Up
to 700 arrests estimated in Postville raid 12 May 2008 (IA)
Four Homeland Security buses with U.S. Immigration and Customs tags
on them have entered the Agriprocessors Inc. complex. The buses, along
with a trail of SUVs and vans with Minnesota license plates, arrived
at about 11:45 a.m. Tim Counts, a Midwest ICE spokesman, declined to
confirm where people who are arrested will be detained. Federal officials
have leased the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo, but
they declined to explain last week whether the property was being prepared
for use as a detention center.

'Activists
discussed today possible strategies to help after a raid, including
locating children and identifying detainees.' Fearing
raid, immigration-rights activists meet in Waterloo11 May 2008
Several Iowa immigration-rights activists gathered today at a Waterloo
church and the home of a local social worker to discuss what they consider
to be an impending immigration raid. The discussions were prompted by
federal officials' lease last week of the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds
in Waterloo. Local immigration-rights activists fear the fairgrounds
will be used as a detention center.

Questions
Surround Homeland Security's Presence in Waterloo --Many
people in Waterloo believe the site is being transformed into a detention
center. 09 May 2008 People in Waterloo are trying to figure
out what sort of operation federal officials are conducting in town.
This week, the Department of Homeland Security took-over and sealed-off
the grounds of the National Cattle Congress on the west side of Waterloo.
Thursday night, our crew went to investigate, but security guards told
them to stay across the street from the property. Our camera caught
pictures of elaborate ventilation systems going into the buildings.
There were dozens of cars coming in and out with license plates from
surrounding states, and even as far away as Georgia and Texas. A guard
at the gate told us they are preparing for training exercises, but a
Homeland Security spokesman would not confirm that. Many people in Waterloo
believe the site is being transformed into a detention center.

A
once ailing private-prison sector is now a revenue maker 12
May 2008 "The private prison industry was on the verge of bankruptcy
in the late 1990s, until the feds bailed them out with the immigration-detention
contracts," said Michele Deitch, an expert on prison privatization with
the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of
Texas in Austin. As increasingly tough immigration laws have called
for the detention and deportation of ever more immigrants [and soon-to-be
bird flu vaccine refuseniks], the demand for bed space by immigration
authorities has helped turn what was once a dying business into a multibillion-dollar
industry with record revenue and stock prices several times higher than
they were eight years ago. In San Diego, CCA [Corrections Corporation
of America] is in the permitting process to build a nearly 3,000-bed
facility that the company hopes will be used by U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, or ICE. It would hold more than four times the
detainees held in San Diego now.

Deadly
Animal Virus May Soon Come to U.S. Mainland 02 May 2008 The
nation’s food supply may soon be under significant threat as the result
of a Bush administration decision to move its research on one of the
most contagious animal diseases from an isolated island laboratory to
the U.S. mainland, placing it near herds of livestock.

Families
will make case for vaccine link to autism
12 May 2008 Families claiming that a mercury-based preservative in vaccines
triggers autism will challenge mainstream medicine Monday as they take
their case to a federal court. Overall, nearly 4,900 families have filed
claims with the U.S. Court of Claims alleging that vaccines caused autism
and other neurological problems in their children.

'No
thanks to Americans for their effort to bring us democracy that killed
half of us by their bombs and is now apparently killing the other half
by starvation.' Iraq:
Food Crisis Hits Fallujah 12 May 2008 Sharp increases in food
prices have generated a new wave of anti-occupation and anti-U.S. sentiment
in Fallujah. "This is a country that was damned
by the Americans the moment they stepped on our soil," Burhan
Jassim, a farmer from Sichir village just outside Fallujah told IPS.
"This is Iraqi land that has always been blessed by Allah with the best
production in quality and quantity, but now see how it has been turned
into a wasteland." Fallujah faces this new crisis after much of the
city was destroyed by U.S. military operations in 2004.

Iraqi
water supply in jeopardy 09 May 2008 Conflict, warm summer weather
and a lack of electricity forced many agricultural sectors of Iraq's
Diyala province into near-drought conditions. The central pumping station
in Diyala is plagued by frequent power disruptions, and its position
near a conflict zone pitting Shiite and Sunni fighters against each
other means little clean water reaches the surrounding community, the
Inter Press News Service said.

'Ghost
city' Mosul braces for assault on last bastion of al-Qa'ida in Iraq
12 May 2008 Mosul looks like a city of the dead. American and Iraqi
troops have launched an attack aimed at crushing the last bastion of
al- Qa'ida [al-CIAduh] in Iraq and in doing so have turned the country's
northern capital into a ghost town. Soldiers
shoot at any civilian vehicle on the streets in defiance of a strict
curfew. Two men, a woman and child in one car which failed
to stop were shot dead yesterday by US troops, who issued a statement
saying the men were armed and one made "threatening movements".

Official
survives attempt on his life in Baghdad 11 May 2008 The Iraqi
undersecretary of finance survived an attempt on his life on Sunday
when an improvised explosive device went off near his motorcade in central
Baghdad, leaving six civilians wounded, police said.

10
policemen referred to judiciary 11 May 2008 Ten policemen, including
one officer, were referred to the judiciary for abusing the law during
raid operations, the Karbala police & operations chief said on Sunday.
"We ordered the referral of ten policemen, including one officer, to
the judiciary for abusing the law in dealing with human rights issues,"
Maj. General Raed Shakir Jawdat told Aswat al-Iraq.

Heavy
bombardment on Sadr city despite ceasefire 10 May 2008 Three
large parts of Sadr city were subjected to heavy bombardment that was
continuously carried out by U.S. helicopters, starting from Saturday
3:30 p.m. until now, despite the Iraqi government and representatives
of the Sadr movement having signed an agreement to stop confrontations
in the city.

Tony
Blair used Cherie's grief to protect Iraq strategy
12 May 2008 Cherie Blair was astonished by the ruthless manner in which
her husband made public within hours the fact that she had lost the
baby she was carrying. In her autobiography, serialised in The Times
today, she reveals that Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell, his communications
chief, insisted on informing the media almost immediately in 2002. In
an emotional account of losing her baby, she writes of her disbelief
that her husband and Mr Campbell telephoned to discuss the announcement
as she lay in pain and still bleeding. They did so in order that a delay
in their holiday did not trigger false speculation of an early invasion
of Iraq.

Iran
arrests group for mosque blast, blames West 08 May 2008 Iran
has arrested members of a terrorist group with links to Britain and
the United States who were behind a blast at a mosque last month that
killed 14 and wounded 200 in the southern city of Shiraz, a news agency
said. Iranian officials had previously said the April 12 blast, in the
Shohada mosque during an evening prayer sermon by a prominent local
cleric, was caused by explosives left over from an exhibition commemorating
the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. "The blast ... was caused by a bombing
by a terrorist group with links to Western countries, especially Britain
and America," ISNA news agency quoted Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein
Mohseni-Ejei as saying late on Wednesday.

Blast
kills Gaza teacher in front of her children 12 May 2008 The
UN is demanding an investigation into how the Israeli military killed
one of its Palestinian school teachers by blasting open the front door
of her Gaza home with explosives in the presence of three of her children.

2
Humvees missing from US base in Afghanistan 12 May 2008 Two
armored Humvees were missing from a U.S. military base in Afghanistan,
a military spokesman said Monday. The military was investigating whether
the vehicles were stolen, although officials believed they were likely
still in the possession of U.S. personnel but simply unaccounted
for [!], said Lt. Col. Paul Fanning.

More
Fort Campbell Soldiers Die In Afghanistan 10 May 2008 Another
Ft. Campbell soldier has been killed while serving in Afghanistan. The
department of defense said Pfc. Ara T. Deysie was killed when his unit
came under rocket-propelled grenade fire. The 18-year old soldier was
assigned to the 101st division. The military said Sgt. Isaac Palomarez,
26, was killed Friday in the Kapisa Province.

Surge
in disabled vets to cost U.S. billions 11 May 2008 Increasing
numbers of U.S. troops have left the military with damaged bodies and
minds, an ever-larger pool of disabled veterans that will cost the nation
billions for decades to come -- even as the total population of America's
vets shrinks.

Post-War
Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths, U.S. Says 05 May 2008 The
number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may
exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care,
the U.S. government's top psychiatric researcher said. The government
expects to be spending $59 billion a year to compensate injured warriors
in 25 years, up from today's $29 billion, according to internal documents
obtained by the Associated Press. And the Veterans Affairs Department
concedes the bill could be much higher.

US
lawyer barred for Guantanamo bias 12 May 2008 A military judge
has disqualified the Pentagon's top legal adviser in the Office of Military
Commissions from participating in the prosecution of a prisoner at Guantanamo
Bay because he exerted improper influence over a team of prosecutors
and may have compromised the case's fairness. Naval Captain Keith Allred,
who is presiding over hearings in preparation for the military's trial
of an alleged driver for Osama bin Laden, determined that Air Force
Brigadier General Thomas Hartmann was too closely tied to prosecutors.

Gen
Hood's withdrawal leaves red faces at Pentagon --New York Times
says Hood was assigned to Pakistan since he was believed to be ‘crisis-tested’
10 May 2008 There are quite a few red faces at the Pentagon this week
since it became known that the controversial Maj Gen Jay W Hood the
"commissar" of the Guantanamo detention colony, which lies
beyond the jurisdiction of American courts, was being withdrawn as the
senior military official based in Pakistan. The credit for the cancellation
to Gen Hood’s ill-considered appointment goes to the Pakistani print
and electronic media, which decried the appointment and demanded that
it be cancelled.

Ex-Guantanamo
head's name withdrawn for Pakistan post 10 May 2008 An army
general who led the Guantanamo detention center at a time when alleged
mishandling of Korans sparked Muslim riots has been withdrawn as the
US military's proposed top representative in Pakistan, a military spokeswoman
said Friday. Major General Jay Hood was named in March to the post of
US defense representative in Pakistan, a key position at a time of mounting
US concern over Al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] and the Taliban activities in Pakistani
safe havens.

Police
in Gun Searches Face Disbelief in Court 12 May 2008 Over the
last six years, the police and prosecutors have cooperated in a broad
effort that allows convicted felons found with a firearm to be tried
in federal court, where sentences are much harsher than in state court...
A closer look at those prosecutions reveals something that has not been
trumpeted: more than 20 cases in which judges found police officers’
testimony to be unreliable, inconsistent, twisting the truth, or just
plain false. The judges’ language was often withering: "patently
incredible," "riddled with exaggerations," "unworthy
of belief." The outrage usually stopped there.

Voter
ID Battle Shifts to Proof of Citizenship 12 May 2008 The battle
over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in Missouri are
expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election
officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to
vote. The measure would allow far more rigorous demands than the voter
ID requirement recently upheld by the Supreme Court, in which voters
had to prove their identity with a government-issued card.

Federal
rules give corporation-backed conservative radio all the local voices
By Sue Wilson 11 May 2008 There's a mournful hush in Sacramento these
days, the empty sound of an entire political viewpoint quieted. More
than 32,000 weekly listeners who once tuned to KSAC (1240 AM) to hear
partisan Democrats beat up on President [sic] George W. Bush, now hear
only Christian hip-hop. There's nothing wrong with Christian hip-hop...
But there are six other commercial radio stations licensed in the Sacramento
area programming the Christian message. In the political realm, three
local radio stations program 264 hours of partisan Republican radio
talkers beating up on Democrats every week. Now, zero stations program
any Democratic view whatsoever: 264-0.

Obama
Takes Superdelegate Lead 12 May 2008 Barack Obama has overtaken
Hillary Clinton in the NBC NEWS superdelegate count with the endorsement
of Hawaii's Dolly Strazar. This is his second of the day and puts him
now officially over the top, 277-276.5. The NBC NEWS delegate counts:
Pledged: Obama 1,590, Clinton 1,426; Supers: Obama 277, Clinton 276.5;
Total: Obama 1,867, Clinton 1,702.5.

Clinton
holds big leads in West Virginia and Kentucky 12 May 2008 Even
as her campaign appears to be in its final stages, Hillary Clinton is
headed for two sweeping victories in West Virginia and Kentucky, the
next two states to weigh in on the prolonged Democratic presidential
race. According to new polls released Monday, Clinton holds a 34 point
lead in West Virginia and a 27 point lead in Kentucky.

McCain
Pushed Land Swap That Benefits Backer 09 May 2008 Sen. John
McCain championed legislation that will let an Arizona rancher trade
remote grassland and ponderosa pine forest here for acres of valuable
federally owned property that is ready for development, a land swap
that now stands to directly benefit one of his top presidential campaign
fundraisers. Initially reluctant to support the swap, the Arizona Republican
became a key figure in pushing the deal through Congress after the rancher
[Steven A. Betts] and his partners hired lobbyists that included McCain's
1992 Senate campaign manager, two of his former Senate staff members
(one of whom has returned as his chief of staff), and an Arizona insider
who was a major McCain donor and is now bundling campaign checks.

The
Most Important Piece of Paper in America By Jared Bernstein
11 May 2008 I hold in my hand one of the most important pieces of paper
in America: Table
T08-0071, an analysis of candidate John McCain's tax plan... It
is a table constructed by the Tax
Policy Center's steely-eyed tax analysts, and it reveals nothing
less than McCain's secret plan to diminish the US government beyond
recognition... The numbers in the table show the revenue loss to the
Federal government from McCain's proposed tax cuts. In the far right
corner is the 10-year total: -$5.7 trillion.

Bush
Comment on Food Crisis Brings Anger, Ridicule in India 08 May
2008 A comment by President [sic] Bush about the role of India in the
world food crisis has set off a firestorm of criticism in this country.
Speaking in St. Louis over the weekend, Bush said that [in India] "middle
class is larger than our entire population." But "when you start getting
wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food," he said.
"And so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up." Overnight,
Indians reacted with outrage at what they saw as a suggestion that they
were to blame for inflation. Politicians lashed out at Bush. Newspapers
excoriated him. "India is not a net food importer. It is a food exporter.
The assumption that prices are increasing because of a changed India
is completely erroneous," said Manish Tewari, a spokesman for the ruling
Congress party.

Oil
could hit $200 in 'super-spike' 10 May 2008 Oil prices threaten
to hit $200 a barrel in a final "super-spike" over coming months as
'producers fail to keep pace with blistering demand from China and the
Middle East,' according to a controversial report by Goldman Sachs.

Two
foreign groups bid for Pa. Turnpike lease: WSJ 11 May 2008 At
least two groups submitted undisclosed cash offers for the 75-year lease
of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
One group is led by Spanish toll-road operator Abertis Infraestructuras
SA, while the second group includes Spain's Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructura
de Transporte SA and Australia's Macquarie Infrastructure Group, the
newspaper said in a report on its website.

Tornado
season deadliest in a decade
12 May 2008 The USA has been ravaged through mid-May by a near-record
number of tornadoes that has pushed the death toll -- including 47 killer
twisters over the weekend -- to a 10-year high.

*****

DHS
activity at Waterloo fairgrounds raises questions --ICE declines
to say if whole area will be used as detention center --National
Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo, Iowa, is prepared for a 'federal
project.' 06 May 2008 Federal officials have imposed a news blackout
at the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo, where they
have leased almost the entire property through May 25. The Waterloo
Courier on Sunday reported that contractors have installed generators
adjacent to many buildings at the fairgrounds. In addition, windows
on many buildings have been covered up, blocking views inside. A number
of mobile-home-size trailers have been transported to the privately
owned grounds. Doug Miller, general manager of the Cattle Congress,
declined Monday to release a copy of his group's rental contract with
U.S. General Services Administration. He also indicated he was in the
dark about what's happening inside the fairgrounds.

ICE
presence at fairgrounds 'remains a mystery' 08 May 2008 The
presence of immigration officials at National Cattle Congress has stoked
fears of an impending raid. Four days after The Courier first reported
the installation of trailers, generators and ventilation equipment on
the grounds, the presence of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
remains a mystery. On April 24, FEMA announced it was conducting a national-level
training exercise in May "to prepare and respond to multiple incidents
including both natural disasters and terrorist incidents." The FEMA
release did not specify the location or locations of the exercise. While
the release indicated "a combined functional and full-scale exercise"
would be conducted May 1-8, the government has leased the NCC grounds
through May 25. Neither NCC nor the federal government would confirm
whether federal officials are using the NCC grounds as part of the national
exercise.

Operation
Iraqi Freedom Fascism:Iraqi
government closes the Sadr radio station 10 May 2008 U.S.
and Iraqi forces closed on Thursday the Sadr movement's al-Ahad
radio station office, and stopped its broadcast,
at orders from the Iraqi government, said the station's manager. "An
Iraqi-U.S. force stopped al-Ahad radio station's broadcast, according
to a memo that carried Premier Nouri al-Maliki's signature," Abid Abu-Zahra
told Aswat al-Iraq. "The force did not show a legal memo to stop the
station," he said. "This step made by the government is a dangerous
measure that deprives people from the voice that represents their pains,"
he added.

Judge:
Woman's rape case against Halliburton can go to trial
09 May 2008 A woman who said she was raped by co-workers while employed
by a contractor in Iraq can take her claims to trial, a federal judge
ruled Friday. Jamie Leigh Jones filed a federal lawsuit last year, saying
she was attacked while working for a Halliburton Co. subsidiary at Camp
Hope, Baghdad, in 2005. Her lawsuit claims that after she endured harassment
from some of the men where she lived in coed barracks, she was drugged
and raped by Halliburton and KBR firefighters. Jones, a former
Conroe resident, said a KBR representative imprisoned her in a shipping
container for a day so she wouldn't report the assault. [I'll stand
with whoever will fight KBR, Halliburton and Blackwater - and the regime
that spawned them. --LRP]

US
war dead cremated in same facility as pets: Pentagon 10 May
2008 US Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered a review of the handling
of the remains of US war dead and apologized after learning that some
were cremated in a commercial facility that also cremates pets, the
Pentagon said. The facility, owned by the Torbit's Funeral Home Crematory,
had been contracted by the air force to cremate remains of soldiers
brought back from Iraq and Afghanistan through Dover, officials said.

Clashes
in Baghdad kill 19, wound 116: hospitals 10 May 2008 Nineteen
people have been killed and 116 wounded in clashes between security
forces and militants in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City district in the
past 24 hours, the two hospitals in the Shi'ite city said on Saturday.

Iraq:
US soldier dies in 'non-combat incident' 11 May 2008 The U.S.
military says a soldier has died in a vehicle accident near al-Asad.
The military says the soldier was killed when the vehicle he was traveling
in rolled over near al-Asad, home to the second largest air base in
Iraq.

Report:
US coalition kills civilians in Afghanistan 10 May 2008 Dozens
of protesters blocked a road Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, claiming
that US-led 'coalition' forces killed three civilians. Villagers from
the area carried the three bodies to a major highway during the protest,
in which police allegedly opened fire, killing one and wounding three.

US
says Syria, Iran behind Lebanon violence 09 May 2008 The Bush
regime accused Iran and Syria on Friday of fueling ongoing violence
in Lebanon by inciting members of the radical Shiite Hezbollah movement
to take up arms against the country's western-backed government.

Brazil
sees no Iranian threat, despite US warning 09 May 2008 Brazil
sees no threat from Iran, despite U.S. concerns that the Tehran government
is courting allies in Latin America, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said
on Friday. Thomas Shannon, the senior U.S. official for Latin America,
said on Wednesday that Iran was making allies in the region to counter
Washington's traditional influence imperialism and could use
them to threaten U.S. security.

Lebanese
opposition ends west Beirut takeover 10 May 2008 Lebanon's Hezbollah-led
opposition on Saturday said it was ending its takeover of west Beirut
after the army revoked government moves against the Shiite group that
sparked days of deadly fighting.

Adviser
Barred From Detainee Case Over Bias Concerns 11 May 2008 The
Pentagon's top legal adviser in the Office of Military Commissions was
disqualified late last week from participating in the prosecution of
a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by a Navy officer who ruled that
the adviser exerted improper influence over a team of prosecutors and
may have compromised the case's fairness. Capt. Keith J. Allred, who
is presiding over hearings in preparation for the military's 'trial'
of an alleged driver for Osama bin Laden, determined that Air Force
Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann was too closely tied to prosecutors. In
a 13-page ruling issued Friday, Allred found that Hartmann pressured
prosecutors to present certain cases because they were "sexy," suggesting
that factors other than a case's merits "were at play." He also found
that Hartmann appeared to be pushing for prosecutors to use evidence
derived by coercion, something Allred found to be "an effort to influence
the professional judgment" of the prosecutors.

Judge
Drops General From Trial of Detainee 10 May 2008 In a new blow
to the Bush regime’s troubled military commission system, a military
judge has disqualified a Pentagon general who has been centrally involved
in overseeing Guantánamo war crimes tribunals from any role in the first
case headed for 'trial.' The judge said the general was too closely
aligned with the prosecution, raising questions about whether he could
carry out his role with the required neutrality and objectivity. Military
defense lawyers said that although the ruling was limited to one case,
they expected the issue to be raised in other cases, potentially delaying
prosecutions, including the death-penalty prosecution of six prisoners
at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for the [Bush] Sept. 11 attacks.

U.S.
denies Khadr probe was halted prematurely 10 May 2008 The Pentagon
disputes claims that political pressure prematurely halted an investigation
into the alleged abuse of Omar Khadr when he was detained in Afghanistan.
Pentagon spokesperson Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon said army investigators did
not substantiate the allegations of harsh interrogations torture
at the U.S. base in Bagram. Following a court hearing Thursday at the
U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Khadr's military lawyer accused
the government of a cover-up since the investigation appeared to stop
in October 2006 – the same month U.S. President [sic] George W. Bush
signed the military law under which Khadr is charged. Khadr was 15 when
he was brought to the U.S. base camp at Bagram after he was captured
in a firefight on July 27, 2002. He had been shot twice in the back
by U.S. forces.

Guantanamo
prisoners spead word to boycott trials 09 May 2008 The message
travels among Guantanamo prisoners in whispers between recreation areas
and shouts through slots in cell doors: Don't trust the Americans. Boycott.
Guards call it the Detainee News Network, and it is now prompting inmates
to turn their backs on their war-crimes 'trials' at this U.S. Naval
station in southeast Cuba. Six prisoners currently at Guantanamo have
appeared before a military judge, and five of those have joined the
boycott, which is expected to spread as more suspected terrorists are
arraigned.

U.S.
looks set to offer Israel powerful new radar 10 May 2008 The
Bush regime appears set to offer Israel a powerful radar system that
could greatly boost Israeli defenses against enemy ballistic missiles
while tying it directly into a growing U.S. missile shield.

Olmert
defies calls to resign over bribe probe 09 May 2008 Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert defied a barrage of calls to resign on Friday
after he admitted taking cash from an American businessman at the centre
of a police inquiry into allegations of bribery.

The
mouse that roared --The line in the sand has been drawn on Georgia
and NATO. Beware pushing the limits of Russia's patience too far, worries
Eric Walberg 08 May 2008 While Georgians see themselves as part of Europe,
"the whole history of Georgia is of Georgian kings writing to Western
kings for help, or for understanding. And sometimes not even getting
a response," said its thoroughly Westernised president, Mikheil Saakashvili,
in a recent interview. "Not just being an isolated, faraway country,
but part of something bigger."

Narrow
escapes for CNN reporter in Myanmar 10 May 2008 A CNN reporter
who left Myanmar Friday was chased by authorities as he reported on
the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis but escaped primarily because of the
incompetence of the people after him. Dan Rivers hid under a blanket
at one police checkpoint and casually covered up his name on a passport
to avoid detection another time.

U.S.
(forgetting Katrina) "outraged" by Myanmar's response to cyclone
By Lori Price 09 May 2008 'The United States expressed outrage on Thursday
at the delays in allowing in aid.' Really? Well, I am outraged that
they are outraged! This is the 'Pot-Kettle' moment of the decade. Heckova
job, Brownie Burma! [The item is 'Diggable' now, please click
so that the media finally reports on this outrageous Bush hypocrisy!]

McCain
hit with lobbyist scandal
11 May 2008 The McCain-picked leader of the Republican national convention
has resigned after a report revealed his lobbying ties with Myanmar.
Doug Goodyear, chief executive of the lobbying firm DCI Group, resigned
a few hours after Newsweek revealed
on Saturday that his company was paid to represent Myanmar's junta in
2002 and 2003. DCI has reportedly been a pioneer in running 'independent'
expenditure campaigns by so-called 527 groups. Senator McCain supposedly
denounces this kind of operations.

Leader
of GOP convention quits after Myanmar ties reported 10 May 2008
The man picked by the John McCain campaign to run the 2008 Republican
National Convention resigned Saturday after a report that his lobbying
firm used to represent the military regime in Myanmar. Doug Goodyear
resigned as convention coordinator.

McCain's
Convention Chair Worked for Burma's Military Junta 10 May 2008
John McCain's campaign recently tapped Doug Goodyear manage this summer's
GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn. Goodyear is CEO of DCI Group, a consulting
firm that earned $3 million last year lobbying for ExxonMobil, General
Motors and other clients. Potentially more problematic: the firm was
paid $348,000 in 2002 to represent Burma's military junta, which had
been strongly condemned by the State Department for its human-rights
record and remains in power today. Justice Department lobbying records
show DCI pushed to "begin a dialogue of political reconciliation" with
the regime. It also led a PR campaign to burnish the junta's image,
drafting releases praising Burma's efforts to curb the drug trade and
denouncing "falsehoods" by the Bush administration that the regime engaged
in rape and other abuses.

McCain
to Me in 1999: Bush "As Dumb as a Stump" By Al Meyerhoff 10
May 2008 Over the Fourth of July weekend of 1999, I had the good fortune
to accompany my then fiancée (and now happily my wife) to the McCain
vacation home in Sedona where she was interviewing them for a Home and
Garden Television show. ...[A]s McCain flipped burgers, I could not
help but ask his views about then candidate George W. Bush. "He's as
dumb as a stump," McCain offered. We then went on to discuss other matters
(including Vietnam) but that quote remains seared in my memory. So how
the McCains actually voted that November is between them and their voting
booth. But if John McCain did end up voting for Bush, then by his own
admission he voted for a stump.

Obama
Launches 50-State Voter Registration Drive
10 May 2008 Sen. Barack Obama may not yet be the Democratic Party's
presidential nominee, but Saturday morning his campaign launched in
more than 100 other locations across the country a national voter registration
drive intended to transform the electorate - or at least register more
Democrats -- in advance of November's general 'election.'

E-Mails
Show Derogatory Banter at Secret Service
10 May 2008 Secret Service supervisors shared crude sexual jokes and
engaged in racially derogatory banter about blacks, and passed around
an anecdote about a possible assassination of the Rev. Jesse Jackson,
according to internal e-mail disclosed in a federal court filing on
Friday by lawyers for black Secret Service agents. The messages were
written mainly from 2003 through 2005, and were sent to and from e-mail
accounts of at least 20 Secret Service supervisors. Eric Zahren, a spokesman
for the Secret Service, said that an internal inquiry had been opened
and that the inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security,
which oversees the Secret Service, had been alerted.

Federal
regulators close Arkansas bank ANB Financial 09 May 2008 Federal
regulators says they've closed ANB Financial National Association banks
after discovering "unsafe and unsound" business practices there. David
Barr, a spokesman for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says many
customers served by the bank's nine locations had accounts under $100,000,
which will be fully insured by the government.

U.S.
Naval medical lab 'not transparent' in its operations: Indonesia health
minister --'We don't know what happened to the [bird flu]
viruses that we sent.' 07 May 2008 Indonesia is trying to defend
the interests of poorer nations by refusing to share bird flu samples
with the West and is locked in a cultural misunderstanding over the
issue, Jakarta's health minister said on Wednesday. Siti Fadillah Supari
also said in an interview that a U.S. naval medical lab based in Indonesia
for research into tropical diseases was barely benefiting its host country
and was not being transparent in its operations... The minister said
the U.S. U.S. naval lab in Jakarta had been receiving virus samples
from across Indonesia, but that had been stopped. "We don't know what
happened to the viruses that we sent," she said, adding the U.S. lab
had also received samples from Indonesian soldiers deployed in Papua.

Swan
tests positive for bird flu 10 May 2008 Japanese officials are
worried that the H5N1 bird flu virus may be spreading among wild birds
in the north after the body of a swan tested positive for the disease,
the third case in recent weeks. No poultry have been affected so far,
said Shigeki Oda, a farm official in the northern island of Hokkaido.

San
Francisco to Test Drinking Water Security System 09 May 2008
Improving the security of U.S. drinking water systems has gathered urgency
since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency announced an $8 million grant to San Francisco to help the city
develop and evaluate a contamination warning system for its drinking
water supply.

$423
Million Settlement Reached in Groundwater Contamination Lawsuit Against
Oil Behemoths 08 May 2008 Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. has secured
a landmark settlement against some of the country's biggest oil companies,
which have agreed to pay $423 million in a suit involving the contamination
of 153 public water systems nationally. The MTBE litigation, brought
by Weitz & Luxenberg and Baron & Budd, addressed the gasoline additive
methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE.

Bush
Sets New Record in Refusing to Protect Endangered Species --Polar
Bear Decision Looms 09 May 2008 Today marks two years since the
Department of the Interior last protected a new U.S. species under the
Endangered Species Act. "The Bush administration has been an unmitigated
disaster for the nation’s endangered species, delaying and denying protection
for hundreds of animals and plants," said Noah Greenwald, science
director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Kalluk
the polar bear looks a little blue 09 May 2008 Zookeepers at
San Diego Zoo have painted the seven-year-old and his favourite toy,
a burlap doll, a light shade of blue as part of the zoo's annual Bear
Awareness Days. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the plight of
the world's bears and the threats they face from climate change and
rising sea levels. Unfazed by his new look, Kalluk spent the morning
playing in his enclosure before falling asleep on his new blue friend.

18
reported dead in Missouri, Oklahoma tornadoes 11 May 2008 At
least 18 people were killed on Saturday in Missouri and Oklahoma after
tornadoes swept through the area, authorities in the two states said.
There were at least 12 storm-related deaths in Missouri, 10 of those
in Newton County on the border with Oklahoma, according to Susie Stonner
of the Missouri Emergency Management Agency.

*****

Military
stops cremating troops by contractor that also handles pets
--A Pentagon Delaware cremation contractor, Torbert Funeral Home,
incinerated both soldiers and animals 09 May 2008 The U.S. military
will no longer cremate troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan at
a Dover facility that also cremates pets, the Pentagon announced Friday
evening at a hastily planned new conference. Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates made the decision Friday after a soldier who works at the Pentagon
informed the department that a crematory contracted by the department
also incinerated animals.

U.S.
makes changes to cremations for slain troops 09 May 2008 The
Pentagon ordered changes to procedures for the cremation of slain troops
after concerns emerged about the military's use [hiring of a contractor]
of a crematorium that burns both human and animal remains, officials
said on Friday. The crematorium in question was used by the mortuary
at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where the bodies of troops killed
in Iraq, Afghanistan and other overseas locations are returned to the
United States, officials said.

Iraq
Plans $1 Billion 'Zone of Influence' Near U.S. Embassy In Baghdad
08 May 2008 Marriott International is considering opening a hotel in
Baghdad's Green Zone, in response to a request from U.S. government
officials who want to help Iraq revive its economy through foreign investments
and economic activities. Baghdad authorities have approached other hotel
operators aside from Marriott, but Iraq wants to maximize its links
with the Bush administration since Bill Marriott chairs the U.S. Export
Council. Even before Marriott has confirmed its interest, a license
for a hotel construction has already been issued by Baghdad, said Paul
Brinkley, deputy defense undersecretary for business transformation.

Blackwater
unlikely to face charges in Iraq shooting 09 May Blackwater
Worldwide, the security contractor mercenaries blamed by an angry
Iraqi government for the shooting deaths of 17 civilians, is not expected
to face criminal charges -- all but ensuring the company will keep its
multimillion-dollar contract to protect U.S. diplomats.

Iraqi
military orders Sadr City residents to evacuate 08 May 2008
Iraqi security forces on Thursday told residents to evacuate their homes
in the northeast Shiite Sadr City and to move to temporary shelters
on two soccer fields. The military's call indicated the possibility
of stepped-up military operations and came as Iraqi security forces
raided a radio station run by backers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr.

Iraq:
Running Out of Water in Rising Heat
09 May 2008 Water supply is drying out in what was once the agriculturally
rich Diyala province north of Baghdad. Baquba, the capital city of Diyala,
is now running out of water both for drinking and for irrigation. Water
supply has been hit by power failures. The central pumping station has
been running short of electricity supply over the last two years.

Armor
added to Iraq vehicles as roadside bombs surge 09 May 2008 The
U.S. military is reinforcing the sides of its topline mine-resistant
vehicles to shore up what could be weak points as troops see a spike
in armor-piercing roadside bombings across Iraq, The Associated Press
has learned.

A
Secret Afghanistan Mission Prepares for War with Iran By William
M. Arkin 09 May 2008 Those
predicting war with Iran or some Bush-Cheney October surprise attack
on Tehran are constantly looking for signs of military preparations:
a B-52 bomber that mistakenly takes off from North Dakota with nuclear-armed
cruise missiles; a second or third aircraft carrier entering the Persian
Gulf; a B-1 crashing in Qatar. Since the most likely path to war with
Iran is not Marines storming the beach but a strike on nuclear facilities
and "regime" targets, signs such as these can often just be mirages.
The true strike is not necessarily going to come with any warning, and
the U.S. military has developed an entire system called "global strike"
to implement such a preemptive strike.

US
military denies Iraq report of al-Qaida arrest 09 May 2008 The
U.S. military on Friday denied Iraqi government claims that the leader
of al-Qaida in Iraq was captured and said a man with a similar name
[LOL!] had been arrested in the northern city of Mosul. Iraqi authorities
had announced Thursday that police commandos captured Abu Ayyub al-Masri
in a raid in the northern city of Mosul.

US
missile strike kills 11 in Somalia 09 May 2008 U.S. missiles
destroyed the house of the man identified by the U.S. military as the
[Wait for the punchline... wait...here it comes:] top
al-Qaida commander in Somalia, killing him and 10 others
Thursday in a pre-dawn attack that analysts warned could torpedo peace
talks. [LOL! So many 'top al-Qaeda leaders in ___,' so little time.]

US
judge orders CIA to turn over 'torture' memo-ACLU 08 May 2008
A U.S. judge ordered the Central Intelligence Agency on Thursday to
submit to the court a 2002 memo said to specify harsh interrogation
methods used on suspected terrorists held abroad. The American Civil
Liberties Union said the memo was written by the Department of Justice's
Office of Legal Counsel and sent to the CIA in August 2002. The ACLU
described the memo as "one of the most important torture documents still
being withheld by the Bush administration."

Plame
seeks to resurrect suit in CIA leak case 09 May 2008 Valerie
Plame is trying to resurrect a lawsuit against those in the Bush administration
she says illegally outed her as a CIA operative in 2003. Plame says
her CIA cover was blown as retribution for her husband's criticism of
the Iraq war. A federal judge dismissed Plame's lawsuit last year on
procedural grounds. Her lawyers asked a federal appeals court Friday
to force the judge to consider the merits of the case.

Report
Urges Greater US Response to 'Terrorist Ideology' on Internet
08 May 2008 A U.S. Senate panel has released a report concluding that
terrorist groups have stepped up their appeals to English-speaking audiences,
including those in the United States. The report, warning that such
appeals could foment homegrown terrorism, is urging the U.S. government
to do more to isolate and discredit the violent extremist ideology.
Joe LieberBush (R-Israel), who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee, said terrorists have become sophisticated
in their communications abilities. [He should know.]

FBI
seeking records of 2004 Condoleeza Rice ethics probe 07 May
2008 FBI agents investigating government watchdog Scott Bloch have subpoenaed
any records that would reveal whether concerns about the 2004 elections
prompted him to clear Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of ethics
violations. Bloch, the U.S. special counsel who investigates federal
employee whistleblower complaints, found no merit to allegations that
Rice, then President [sic] Bush's national security adviser, timed some
of her trips to boost Bush's 2004 re[s]election
campaign.

Senate
wrangling kills airline safety bill on procedural vote 09 May
2008 The Senate grounded the airline safety bill this week, a victim
of political infighting and partisan wrangling. "The most frustrating
week I have spent in the Senate in my 24 years here," Democratic Sen.
Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, who led the fight for the bill, said
on the Senate floor. The only vote taken was a 49-42, nearly party-line
procedural step to end debate and bring the airline safety bill to a
vote. But the largely Democratic backers needed 60 votes to be successful.

Obama
picks up 9 superdelegates, union endorsement 09 May 2008 Barack
Obama all but erased Hillary Clinton's once-imposing lead among national
convention superdelegates on Friday and won fresh labor backing as elements
of the Democratic Party began coalescing around the Illinois senator
for the fall campaign.

In
Oregon, Clinton hits Obama while he targets McCain 09 May 2008
Campaigning a few miles from each other Friday, Barack Obama trained
his eye on November and the GOP, while Hillary Clinton battled for her
political life, trying to hang on a bit longer in hopes of denying him
the Democratic presidential nomination.

Monsanto,
Cargill, ADM make billions on growing [created] global food crisis
--Speculators blamed for driving up price of basic foods as 100 million
face severe hunger 04 May 2008 Giant agribusinesses are enjoying
soaring earnings and profits out of the world food crisis which is driving
millions of people towards starvation, The Independent on Sunday
can reveal. Monsanto last month reported that its net income for the
three months up to the end of February this year had more than doubled
over the same period in 2007, from $543m (£275m) to $1.12bn. Its profits
increased from $1.44bn to $2.22bn. Cargill's net earnings soared by
86 per cent from $553m to $1.030bn over the same three months. And Archer
Daniels Midland increased its net earnings by 42 per cent in the first
three months of this year from $363m to $517m.

Oil
over $126, new peak for 5th straight day 09 May 2008 Oil prices
leapt to a new peak of more than $126 a barrel on Friday, hitting a
record for the fifth straight session. U.S. crude for June delivery
rose $1.87 to $125.56 by 1335 GMT, off a record high of $126.20 a barrel.
London Brent crude rose $2.81 to $125.65 per barrel.

Barely
surviving by using their credit cards 09 May 2008 Finding themselves
strapped for cash and unable to use their home as an ATM, Americans
are increasingly turning to credit cards to cover gas, groceries and
other living expenses. [Consumers] spent $335 on groceries and $242
on gas, on average, in April. A year earlier, those outlays averaged
only $291 and $181, respectively.

Train
Death and Series of Illnesses Unrelated Says Chief Medical Officer of
Health 09 May 2008 What initially looked to be a frightening
infectious disease outbreak that led to the death of one woman aboard
a Via Rail train turned out to be a remarkable series of unconnected
coincidences [?!?], Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David
Williams, explained during a Friday afternoon press conference.

One
dead and 280 quarantined on Canadian train 09 May 2008 One person
died and about 280 were placed in quarantine aboard a cross-Canada train
on Friday after a mystery illness caused violent flu-like symptoms.
Police spokesman Marc Depatie told CTV television that seven passengers
who boarded the VIA Rail train in the Rocky Mountain resort of Jasper,
Alberta, had fallen ill, and one had died. Another passenger had been
airlifted to hospital.

Great
Dane makes a deer friend 07 May 2008 Doe-eyed Cindy would have
been left all alone in the world were it not for the strong paternal
instincts of a Great Dane, who is as protective of her as he is his
puppies. Staff at the Secret World Animal Rescue Centre in Highbridge,
Somerset, have been caring for Cindy since she was found close to death
when she was days old. The 9st dog [Rocky] towers over his spotted companion,
who he gently nuzzles and accompanies on daily walks, ever watchful.

*****

Marines
ignore Afghan poppy fields, assure locals plants won't be touched
--'Many Marines in the field are scratching their heads over the
situation.' 06 May 2008 Last week, the 24th Marine Expeditionary
Unit moved into southern Helmand province, the world's largest opium
poppy-growing region [thanks
to Bush], and now find themselves surrounded by green fields of
the illegal plants that produce the main ingredient of heroin. The Marines
are not destroying the plants. In fact, they are reassuring villagers
the poppies won't be touched. American commanders say the Marines would
only alienate people and drive them to take up arms if they eliminated
the impoverished Afghans' only source of income.

Who
benefits from the Afghan Opium Trade? By Michel Chossudovsky
21 Sep 2006 The United Nations has announced that opium poppy cultivation
in Afghanistan has soared and is expected to increase by 59% in 2006...
The Western media in chorus blame the Taliban and the warlords. The
Bush administration is said to be committed to curbing the Afghan drug
trade... Yet in a bitter irony, US military
presence has served to restore rather than eradicate the drug trade.
What the reports fail to acknowledge is that the Taliban government
was instrumental in implementing a successful drug eradication program,
with the support and collaboration of the UN. Implemented in 2000-2001,
the Taliban's drug eradication program led to a 94 percent decline in
opium cultivation. In 2001, according to UN figures, opium production
had fallen to 185 tons. Immediately following the October 2001 US
led invasion, production increased dramatically, regaining its historical
levels.

Congress
to pass Iraq war funds by end of May: Pelosi --DemocRATs
to give Bush $162.5 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through
mid-2009. 08 May 2008 The U.S. Congress will send President [sic]
George W. Bush a bill by the end of this month to pay for the war in
Iraq through next year, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday.
The legislation, which would give Bush $162.5 billion for the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan through mid-2009, had been scheduled for debate
in the House of Representatives on Thursday.

U.S.
deploys more than 43,000 unfit for combat 08 May 2008 More than
43,000 U.S. troops listed as medically unfit for combat in the weeks
before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003
were sent anyway, Pentagon records show. This reliance on troops found
medically "non-deployable" is another sign of stress placed on a military
that has sent 1.6 million servicemembers to the war zones, soldier advocacy
groups say.

Baghdad
stadium to 'shelter' Iraqis fleeing Sadr City danger
[Yeah, that worked out *so well* in New Orleans.] 08 May 2008
A top official in Baghdad said the capital's biggest stadium is one
of three locations
being prepared for residents fleeing Baghdad's Sadr City, where Iraqi
and U.S. forces have been fighting Shiite militants for weeks. Tahseen
al-Sheikhly, the civilian spokesman for the Baghdad security 'plan,'
said gangs are trying to generate hatred of security forces by distributing
a "fabricated" video of coalition forces assaulting a woman.

'Some
KBR managers groped Iraqi staff regularly, paid or otherwise rewarded
them for sex and dismissed those who refused or spoke out.'Iraqis
allege sex abuse at the British Embassy
08 May 2008 An Iraqi cleaner and two cooks claim that a culture of sexual
harassment, abuse and bullying exists at the British Embassy in Baghdad.
The middle-aged cleaner told The Times that a British contractor
with KBR, the company hired to maintain the embassy’s premises, offered
to double her daily pay if she would stay the night with him. When she
refused, she said, her pay was cut and she was later dismissed. The
Iraqis accuse the embassy of leaving the abuse unchallenged and failing
adequately to respond to complaints against several British managers
for KBR. The company was allowed to conduct its own inquiry, an arrangement
criticised as a very serious conflict of interest.

At
least 16 dead in Iraq blasts, clashes 08 May 2008 A car bomb
killed seven people and injured 19 in the Iraqi capital on Thursday,
shortly after two rockets slammed into the city centre, killing two
civilians, police said. Three policemen and four civilians were killed
by the car bomb in the Mansur neighbourhood of west Baghdad, a police
official said, adding that two policemen were among the wounded, apart
from two women and a child.

Al-Qaida
in Iraq leader arrested 08 May 2008 Defense Ministry spokesman
says al-Qaida [al-CIAduh] in Iraq leader has been arrested. [Does
that mean he goes off the Blackwater payroll?] Mohammed al-Askari
said the arrest of al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was
confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province. There was no
immediate confirmation or comment from U.S. forces.

Guantanamo
judge threatens to halt Canadian case
08 May 2008 A Guantanamo war kangaroo court judge threatened
on Thursday to halt the case of a Canadian terrorism suspect captured
at age 15 if the U.S. government fails to turn over records of his detention.
The judge, Army Col. Peter Brownback, ordered prosecutors to give a
classified daily prison-camp log to the military attorney for Omar Khadr,
who is now 21 and facing trial on charges of throwing a grenade that
killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.

Israeli
PM Olmert says he'll resign if indicted 08 May 2008 Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, responding to fresh accusations that he
illegally accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from a U.S. citizen,
on Thursday said he will step down if he is indicted. Olmert said he
never took illegal campaign contributions, denying allegations in a
police investigation against him. According to police suspicions, Olmert
accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal contributions from
a U.S. citizen, Morris "Moshe" Talansky.

Olmert
suspected of receiving massive amounts in illicit funds from U.S. businessman
09 May 2008 Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is suspected of illicitly receiving
hundreds of thousands of dollars from Morris (Moshe) Talansky, according
to the details of an investigation currently being carried out against
him. At the request of police and judicial officials, the Tel Aviv Magistrate's
Court on Thursday relaxed a sweeping media gag order that has prevented
the reporting of details on the probe.

4th
Fleet returns, gunning for drug smugglers 26 Apr 2008 Almost
60 years after closing shop, the Navy’s 4th Fleet, which oversaw the
hunt for German subs in the South Atlantic, is coming back. Only this
time, the prey is drug runners [?] in the Caribbean. The Navy announced
April 24 the re-establishment of 4th Fleet, to be based at Naval Station
Mayport, Fla. The command will operate as the naval component of U.S.
Southern Command and will have a SEAL at the helm.

Feds
Practice Evacuation From D.C. to Test 'Continuity of Government'
--In Big National Drill, Executive Branch 'Runs' Government From
Outside D.C. as Mock Crises Mount 08 May 2008 A national disaster
exercise that began
last week involves the evacuation of thousands of federal personnel
from Washington, D.C., the Washington Postreported
[Buried in the 'Metro' section, Page B08].
In National Exercise 2-08, which continues through Saturday, [Bush bin
Laden's] terrorists release a poisonous gas from a tanker in Washington
state while Oregon authorities must handle the unintentional escape
of nerve agent from the Umatilla Chemical Depot. Meanwhile, the capital
region is faced with a terrorist threat and a major hurricane making
its way up the East Coast. Over three days this week, the federal
government is using cars and helicopters to move large numbers of employees
to temporary sites in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. The
drill
is intended to test the ability to maintain "continuity of
government" in the face of a crisis. This is among the largest
such drills since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, officials
said. President [sic] George W. Bush was not expected to be among the
evacuees, but some White House personnel would be sent out of town,
said spokesman Scott Stanzel.

Cheney
aide subpoenaed to testify to Congress 07 May 2008 U.S. Vice
President [sic] Dick Cheney's chief of staff was subpoenaed on Wednesday
to testiLIE in a congressional probe of the administration's treatment
and possible torture of enemy combatants. House of Representatives Judiciary
Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) issued the subpoena to David
Addington a day after it was authorized by a House panel.

Federal
agents raid offices of OSC head in probe of alleged evidence destruction
07 May 2008 Agents from the White House Office of Personnel Management
and the FBI Tuesday searched the home and office of US Office of Special
Counsel (OSC) head Scott J. Bloch as part of an investigation into a
2005 complaint filed by current and former OSC employees. The complaint
alleged that Bloch had intimidated or forcibly transferred employees
who disagreed with his policies, including the halting of investigations
into complaints by federal employees of discrimination on the basis
of sexual orientation. Federal agents Tuesday were reportedly investigating
claims that Bloch had destroyed evidence that might have supported the
allegations.

Police
will harass yobs in new plan to tackle antisocial behaviour
08 May 2008 Thousands of yobs are to be photographed and videoed in
big-brother style police operations to tackle persistent antisocial
behaviour, the Home Secretary announced today. Suspects will be "harassed"
by officers visiting them day and night and issued with repeated warnings
about their behaviour under the drive to deal with a hard core of offenders
who persist with yobbish behaviour on estates.

Police
should harass young thugs - Smith--Home secretary wants
antisocial youths to be openly filmed and hounded at home 08 May
2008 Police should be harassing badly behaved youths by openly filming
them and hounding them at home to make their lives as uncomfortable
as possible, the home secretary will say today. As part of the crackdown
on bad behaviour, Jacqui Smith will urge police forces across the country
to follow the example of Essex police, who have mounted four-day "frame
and shame" operations by filming and repeatedly stopping identified
persistent offenders on problem estates.

New
York protest results in 200 arrests 08 May 2008 200 people have
been arrested in New York after a large protest against last month's
acquittal of three policemen who killed an unarmed black man. Police
said the arrested people were praying and blocking roads.

Bill
Targets Oil Firms and OPEC--Democrats Would Levy Windfall
Tax 08 May 2008 Democratic leaders in Congress unveiled energy legislation
yesterday targeting big oil companies and members of the Organization
of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The package drew sharp criticism
from Republicans, oil firms and foreign policy experts. The legislation,
dubbed the Consumers First Energy Act, features a 25 percent windfall
profits tax on oil companies operating in the United States, a rollback
of existing tax breaks for oil and gas companies worth $17 billion over
10 years, and an authorization for the U.S. attorney general to bring
price collusion charges against OPEC members.

Monsanto
enters partnership to make biofuel from grass 29 Apr 2008 Mendel
Biotechnology Inc. is getting lessons from an agricultural master [terrorists],
Monsanto Co. of Creve Coeur, in developing a grass crop for use in producing
biofuel. The companies said Monday that Monsanto will lend its crop-testing,
breeding and seed-production expertise to the Bioenergy Seeds & Feedstocks
unit of Mendel, based in Hayward, Calif.

Republicans
Focus on Obama as Fall Opponent 08 May 2008 At least one political
party is acting like it knows who the Democratic nominee will be: the
Republicans, who have greatly stepped up their criticisms of Senator
Barack Obama in recent weeks while practically ignoring Senator Hillary
Rodham Clinton.

Obama
gets big welcome, fresh support on Capitol tour 08 May 2008
Sen. Barack Obama got a front-runner's welcome back at the Capitol Thursday,
pressing congressional "superdelegates" to support him in a visit that
had the look and feel of a campaign victory lap. On the House floor,
he was quickly surrounded by well-wishers calling him, "Mr. President"
and reaching out to pat him on the back or shake his hand. The glad-handers
included a few Republicans and supporters of his Democratic presidential
rival, Hillary Clinton.

Obama
Stops By U.S. Capitol ... Just To Say "Hello" 08 May 2008 Sen.
Barack Obama stepped into a swarm of superdelegates this morning when
he visited the House of Representatives in the middle of a vote. Obama
stayed on the floor for almost half an hour visiting with both Democrats
and Republicans who looked completely star struck. Even Speaker Nancy
Pelosi left her weekly press briefing and made a beeline for the House
floor to say hello.

Clinton
makes case for wide appeal 08 May 2008 Hillary Rodham Clinton
vowed Wednesday to continue her quest for the Democratic nomination,
arguing she would be the stronger nominee because she appeals to a wider
coalition of voters -- including whites who have not supported Barack
Obama in recent contests. "I have a much broader base to build a winning
coalition on," she said in an interview with USA TODAY.

Dear
Timmy
By Taylor Marsh 07 May 2008 You loud mouthed, self-important, elitist,
John McCain pimping, pile on artist, anti feminist, misogynistic, ego
driven, over paid, hack, blow hard, Clinton hating, so 20th century
male, mind numbing pontificator, against all things Democratic jackass.
Who elected you to anything? Whose place is it to announce we have a
nominee when neither candidate has enough delegates? I'll tell you who:
no one... It's also embarrassing to see a grown man get paid all that
money to make an ass out of himself every day, but especially when it
comes to Hillary Clinton. Don't think for a second we don't know your
real game. It's been obvious for a very long time.

U.S.
"outraged" by Myanmar's response to cyclone [Burma's response
is the same as the Bush junta's! Bush kept international aid out of
New Orleans after 'Hurricane Katrina' (blown levies?) so that he could
bring in KBR and Blackwater and kill as many poor people and minorities
as possible.] 08 May 2008 The United Nations estimates 1.5 million
people have been "severely affected" by the cyclone that swept through
Myanmar and the United States expressed
outrage on Thursday at the delays in allowing in aid.
"We're outraged by the slowness of the response of the government of
Burma (Myanmar) to welcome and accept assistance," U.S. Ambassador to
the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters. "It's clear that the government's
ability to deal with the situation, which is catastrophic, is limited."
['The United States expressed outrage on Thursday at the delays in
allowing in aid.'Really? Well, I am outraged that they
are outraged! This is the 'Pot-Kettle' moment of the decade. Heckova
job, Brownie Burma! --Lori
Price]

Katrina:
Authorities bar Red Cross from NOLA; Blackwater gets carte blanche
By Xeni Jardin 09 Sep 2005 Armed with assault rifles, contractors from
private security firm Blackwater are patrolling the black-water-flooded
streets of New Orleans. Meanwhile, unarmed Red Cross workers toting
food and medicine have been unable to enter the city for days...
Richard Steven Hack says: The reason the Red Cross is not allowed in,
according to the Red Cross Web site, is that the authorities believe
their presence would invite people to return to the city. Since it would
seem the goal of this project is to demolish the city, then dun the
former inhabitants for the demolition costs, then seize the property
for nonpayment, then auction it off for pennies to Bush cronies and
then give Halliburton billions to rebuild it for corporations and whites
only, I'd say that policy fits right in.

'Giant
wave dragged everything into the sea' 08 May 2008 Haunted survivors
emerging from the devastation of Burma's ravaged southwest say entire
families were wiped out when Cyclone Nargis cut its deadly path through
the region. A Burma military official today said an estimated 80,000
people had died in the remote Labutta district, with dozens of the 63
villages surrounding Labutta township wiped out.

'Last
year's cubs may not have survived very well.'Deadline
for endangered listing looms, polar bear plight continues --Sometime
between now and next Thursday the U.S. Department of the Interior is
expected to announce whether polar bears should be placed on the endangered
species list. 06 May 2008 A research project in the Beaufort Sea is
uncovering some surprising new details about Alaska's polar bear population.
The findings of the U.S. Geological Survey show polar bear cubs and
their habitat could be dwindling. Researchers say they've found precious
few polar bear cubs this spring. They could be falling victim to melting
sea ice. [See: Last
chance to save polar bears 06 May 2008.]

Platypus
proves even odder than scientists thought 08 May 2008 The duck-billed
platypus has finally given up its evolutionary secrets. The creature,
considered one of the strangest mammals in the world, has become the
latest to have its genetic code sequenced, revealing it to be a bizarre
mix of mammal, bird and reptile, with very complex sexuality. While
humans have two sex chromosomes, the X and Y, the platypus has 10, with
five of each kind.

*****

Democrats
in US Congress Prepare Iraq-Afghanistan Funding Measure --Majority
Democrats are preparing for a possible vote on legislation to fund war
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. 06 May 2008 The debate, which could
take place on Thursday, involves the bulk of the money President [sic]
Bush requested last year for Iraq and Afghanistan, including funds to
help the Pentagon [Blackwater, KBR] get through the early months of
2009.

US
Accuses Iran of Interfering in Afghanistan --A senior U.S. official
says Iran is interfering in Afghanistan's politics and lending support
to the Taliban 'insurgency.' 06 May 2008 Assistant Secretary of State
Richard Boucher says Iran is known to have funneled weapons to the Taliban
on several occasions, and suggests Tehran wants a weak and unstable
Afghanistan.

Israel:
Iran could have nukes by '09 07 May 2008 With Iran racing forward
with its nuclear program, Israel now believes the Islamic Republic will
master centrifuge technology and be able to begin enriching uranium
on a military scale this year, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The new assessment moves up Israel's forecasts on Teheran's nuclear
program by almost a full year - from 2009 to the end of 2008. [Yup,
just in time for the US 'elections.']

John
Bolton: US should bomb Iranian camps 06 May 2008 John Bolton,
America’s ex-ambassador to the United Nations, has called for US air
strikes on Iranian camps where 'insurgents' are trained for war in Iraq.
Mr Bolton said that striking Iran would represent a major step towards
victory in Iraq.

Iran's
ambassador meets Iraqi president 07 May 2008 Iran’s ambassador
to Baghdad Hassan Qazemi-Qomi and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani held
talks on Tuesday. According to a report released by Talabani’s office,
the two sides discussed issues of mutual interest and ways to strengthen
cooperation between the two countries.

Lawyers
for Guantánamo Prisoners Accuse U.S. of Eavesdropping 07 May
2008 In interviews and a court filing Tuesday, lawyers for prisoners
at Guantánamo said they believed government agents had monitored their
conversations. The assertions are the most specific to date by Guantánamo
lawyers that officials may be violating legal principles that have generally
kept government agents from eavesdropping on lawyers.

Canadian
becomes first child soldier since Nuremberg to stand trial for war crimes
07 May 2008 An inmate at the US-run Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba
is set to be the first child soldier to go on trial for war crimes since
Nuremberg, after a military judge ruled that there were no legal obstacles
preventing the camp's special military tribunals from prosecuting him.
Omar Khadr, a Canadian national, was 15 at the time of his alleged crimes.
His defence team said his age should see him treated as a victim and
rehabilitated, rather than prosecuted as a war criminal.

The
ordeal of Al-Jazeera cameraman 07 May 2008 After six and a half
years of imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay military prison, Al-Jazeera
cameraman, Sami Al-Hajj, was released on May 2, 2008 in a very bad shape...
Al-Hajj’s case symbolizes the policy of torture and human rights violation
of the Bush Administration. His detention may be described as political
since the U.S. interrogators focused almost exclusively on obtaining
intelligence on Al-Jazeera and its staff. At one point, U.S. officials
reportedly told Al-Hajj that he would be released if he agreed to inform
U.S. intelligence authorities about the satellite network’s activities.
Al-Hajj refused. From his hospital bed in Khartoum, now a free man,
he told Al-Jazeera TV that "rats are treated with more humanity",
than the Guantanamo inmates, whose "human dignity was violated."

Anti-government
protests paralyse Lebanese capital 07 May 2008 Anti-government
protesters blocked roads with blazing tyres in the Lebanese capital
and disrupted air traffic during a strike over wages on Wednesday that
escalated into a confrontation between rival political camps. Anti-riot
police and the army were out in full force, cutting off access to many
areas to prevent clashes between supporters of the Hezbollah-led opposition
and the Western-backed government.

Gorbachev:
US could start new Cold War 07 May 2008 Mikhail Gorbachev has
accused the United States of mounting an imperialist conspiracy against
Russia that could push the world into a new Cold War. With Dmitry Medvedev
due to be inaugurated today as Russian president, the Soviet Union's
last leader said that the White House's claims of peaceful intentions
towards its former superpower rival could no longer be trusted.

Clinton
pushes ahead with White House bid
07 May 2008 A tenacious Hillary Clinton pushed ahead with her White
House bid Wednesday, revealing that she lent her cash-strapped campaign
$6.4 million while vowing to seek the nomination at the ballot box and
through Democratic Party channels. Clinton met with fresh pressure to
bow out of the race. Former Sen. George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic
presidential nominee who had backed her candidacy, urged her to get
out on Wednesday and said he had decided to endorse Barack Obama.

Clinton:
seeking to become first woman U.S. president 07 May 2008 Hillary
Clinton's narrow win in Indiana kept alive the White House hopes of
a woman who has been both admired and reviled as she took on her own
political battles after decades fighting for her husband.

Clinton
wins Indiana nail-biter 07 May 2008 Hillary Clinton has narrowly
won the Democratic presidential primary in Indiana, eking out a two-point
victory after a protracted vote count.

Obama
Announces 3 Superdelegates 07 May 2008 From this point forward
in the Democratic presidential nominating contest, the fight between
Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will be boiled down to a day-by-day
accounting of superdelegates. Today, the Obama campaign is announcing
three new superdelegates: Jerry Meek, chairman of the North Carolina
Democratic Party, Jeanette Council, a member of the D.N.C. from North
Carolina and Inola Henry, a member of the D.N.C. from California.

N.C.
Voter Turnout Shatters Record 07 May 2008 North Carolina's primary
has shattered voter turnout records. More than 2.1 million people cast
a ballot in Tuesday's election, and most voted in the Democratic primary
that featured the historic race for the White House.

Obama
campaign rebounds with win in North Carolina primary 07 May
2008 Barack Obama scored a crucial win over Hillary Clinton Tuesday
in the North Carolina Democratic primary, regaining his footing after
weeks of setbacks and moving closer to becoming the first black presidential
nominee of a major U.S. political party.

Bill
Clinton shakes hands, leaves for Indiana 06 May 2008 Closing
a wild week in which he visited about 20 towns and cities in North Carolina,
former President Bill Clinton shook hands with voters at the North Carolina
School of Science and Math in Durham on Thursday afternoon before heading
to Indiana... Michael
Rectenwald, an English professor at North Carolina Central University,
was one of the loudest Hillary Clinton supporters. After Bill Clinton
went through the handshake line once, he came back to Rectenwald and
talked for a minute.

Nuns
with dated ID turned away at Ind. polls --Women, all in their
80's, 90's, showed up with old passports 06 May 2008 About 12 Indiana
nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow sister
because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.
Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow members
of Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend because they had been told earlier
that they would need such an ID to vote. The nuns, all in their 80s
or 90s, didn't get one but came to the precinct anyway.

McCain
seeks to quash fears on the right [Right, he want to assure
them he's another Reichwing whackjob like Bush - no worries; he is.]
John McCain promised on Tuesday to nominate conservative judges
more Nazis to the Supreme Court and for other judicial vacancies, seeking
to quash doubts among some Republicans about his conservative credentials.

McCain
vows to name more 'Alitos' and 'Robertses' 06 May 2008 John
McSociopath sought to burnish his conservative credentials Tuesday with
a broadside against "the common and systematic abuse of our federal
courts by the people we entrust with judicial power" and a promise of
"better judges" in the mold of Supreme Court Justices John G. Roberts
and Samuel Alito.

Summit
County judge orders Taser references deleted from medical examiner's
rulings 03 May 2008 (OH) Summit County Medical Examiner Lisa
Kohler must delete any reference that Tasers contributed to the deaths
of three men, a Summit County Common Pleas judge ordered Friday. The
deaths of Dennis Hyde and Richard Holcomb, who were [allegedly] on drugs...
when police shot them with Tasers, should be ruled accidental, visiting
Judge Ted Schneiderman wrote in his ruling. Any reference to homicide
or "electrical pulse stimulation" should be deleted from death certificates
and autopsy reports, he said. The order to change the ruling in the
death of the third man, Mark McCullaugh, could be more far-reaching.

FBI
Withdraws Unconstitutional National Security Letter After ACLU and EFF
Challenge (eff.org) 07 May 2008 The FBI has withdrawn an unconstitutional
national security letter (NSL) issued to the Internet Archive after
a legal challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and
the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). As the result of a settlement
agreement, the FBI withdrew the NSL and agreed to the unsealing of the
case, finally allowing the Archive's founder to speak out for the first
time about his battle against the record demand.

Government
wiretaps--the ones we know about--up 20% for 2007 By Nate Anderson
04 May 2008 The US last week released its 2007 wiretapping stats, and
they show that such surveillance is up a full 20 percent over the year
before. The number of non-secret wiretaps is higher than it has ever
been in the last decade, and not a single application was denied in
all of 2007.

Burger
With a Side of Spies By Eric Schlosser 07 May 2008 ...[T]he
Burger King Corporation, home of the Whopper, hired a private security
firm to spy on the Student/Farmworker Alliance, a group of idealistic
college students trying to improve the lives of migrants in Florida...
The Bill of Rights was adopted to protect Americans from the abusive
power of their government. I’ve come to believe that we now need a similar
set of restrictions to defend against irresponsible corporate power.
Today companies like Wal-Mart and ExxonMobil have annual revenues larger
than the entire budgets of some states, and they employ former agents
from the F.B.I., the C.I.A. and the Secret Service to do security work.

Suspect
attack: 15 officers off street 08 May 2008 Fifteen Philadelphia
police officers were taken off the street as authorities investigate
a video showing three suspects being kicked, punched and beaten after
they were pulled out of a car during a traffic stop. "At a glance it
does appear to be a bit beyond the pale," Doug Oliver, a spokesman for
Mayor Michael Nutter, said. "Officers are not allowed to operate outside
of the law."

Bomb
explodes at San Diego school 08 May 2008 A San Diego school
was placed on lockdown early on Wednesday after a home-made bomb exploded
inside a garbage bin, but there were no injuries, police said. San Diego
Police Sergeant Kerry Tom said the bomb rattled the Wagenheim Middle
School in the suburb of Mira Mesa at around 7.30am (0030 AEST Thursday),
before most students had arrived for class.

6
fraternities suspended in drug probe at San Diego State U. 07
May 2008 San Diego State University has suspended six fraternities after
a sweeping drug investigation that landed members of three fraternities
in jail on suspicion of openly dealing drugs on campus. The probe led
to the arrests of 96 people, 75 of them San Diego State students. Those
arrested included a student who was about to receive a criminal justice
degree and another who was to receive a master's degree in homeland
security.

EPA
might not act to limit rocket fuel in drinking water 06 May
2008 An EPA official said Tuesday there's a "distinct possibility" the
agency won't take action to rid drinking water
of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has contaminated public water
supplies around the country. Democratic senators called that
unacceptable. They argued that states and local communities shouldn't
have to bear the expense of cleansing their drinking water of perchlorate,
which has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states -- or the risk
of not doing so.

Oil
climbs above $US123
08 May 2008 Crude oil rose to a record above $US123 a barrel in New
York... Crude oil for June delivery rose $US1.69, or 1.4%, to settle
at $US123.53 a barrel at 2.58pm on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
It was the highest close since trading began in 1983. Oil touched a
record $US123.80 in intraday trading.

Burma
cyclone: death toll 'could be 100,000' 07 May 2008 The number
of dead Burma's cyclone disaster could climb to more than 100,000 lives,
it has been claimed. As survivors battled to stay alive with little
relief in sight five days after Cyclone Nargis struck, the US embassy
in Rangoon issued a new estimate of the scale of the human cost in the
disaster. "The information that we’re receiving indicates that
there may well be over 100,000 deaths in the delta area," said
Shari Villarosa, the US charge d’affaires.

Global
warming puts koalas under threat
07 May 2008 Global warming will threaten the survival of koalas by making
the eucalyptus leaves on which they feed toxic, scientists warned on
Wednesday. Australia's most endearing marsupial is already under threat
from a severe drought and loss of habitat as housing encroaches on woodland.
But higher temperatures and increased carbon dioxide could shut down
their food supply, leaving them to starve to death.

Protect
the Polar Bear (The Hartford Courant) 07 May 2008 After years
of denials, dodges and delays, the Bush administration is finally facing
its moment of truth about global warming: A federal judge has ordered
the Interior Department to conclude by mid-May whether the polar bear
deserves protection under the Endangered Species Act. Prodded by a lawsuit
brought by three environmental groups, the department had proposed listing
the bear as threatened in December 2006. Since then, the department
has missed two of its own deadlines for a final decision. It's time
for the Interior Department to come clean, respect the rule of law and
issue its decision.

Last
chance to save polar bears(biologicaldiversity.org) 06 May
2008 On May 15th, the federal government will make one of the most important
decisions in conservation history. If it declares the polar bear to
be an "endangered" species, it will set off an unprecedented worldwide
discussion on global warming... and establish legal requirements to
do something about it. If the government refuses, desperately needed
global action will again be delayed by the Bush administration's stubbornness.
It will all happen -- or not -- on May 15th. Sign our petition
today and pass it on.

*****

Pentagon
Targeted Iran for Regime Change after 9/11 By Gareth Porter
05 May 2008 Three weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks, former U.S. Defence
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld established an official military objective
of not only removing the Saddam Hussein regime by force but overturning
the regime in Iran, as well as in Syria and four other countries in
the Middle East, according to a document quoted extensively in then
Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Douglas Feith's recently published
account of the Iraq war decisions. Feith's account further indicates
that this aggressive aim of remaking the map of the Middle East by military
force and the threat of force was supported explicitly by the country's
top military leaders.

Released
al-Jazeera journalist describes Guantanamo "most heinous" 05
May 2008 The U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay detention camp is the worst prison
ever, Sudanese al-Jazeera journalist Sami al-Haj who was released from
the prison days ago said Monday. In a speech broadcast live on Sudanese
television, ai-Haj, who returned to Sudan on Friday, said he spent 2,340
days in the "most heinous prison mankind has
ever known," and that jailers there insulted Islam before
prisoners. Al-Haj, the only journalist from a major international news
organization held in Guantanamo, believed he was arrested because Al-Jazeera
was reporting on U.S. rights violations in Afghanistan.

Abu
Ghraib ex-detainee files torture lawsuit against US military contractors
05 May 2008 A former Iraqi detainee filed a lawsuit against two private
US military contractors mercenaries Monday alleging that he was
tortured while held at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003, according
to AP. Emad al-Janabi said that employees of CACI International and
L-3 Communications, who work as interrogators for the US military, physically
abused him and often left him chained naked in his cell over the course
of his 10-month stay at the prison. He also alleges that the contractors
conspired to hide evidence of torture from International Red Cross inspectors
and military and government officials.

Iraqi
alleges Abu Ghraib torture, sues US contractors
05 May 2008 An Iraqi man sued two U.S. military contractors Monday,
claiming he was repeatedly tortured while being held at the notorious
Abu Ghraib prison for more than 10 months. Emad al-Janabi's federal
lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, claims that employees of CACI International
Inc. and L-3 Communications punched him, slammed him into walls, hung
from a bed frame and kept him naked and handcuffed in his cell beginning
in September 2003. Also named as a defendant is CACI interrogator Steven
Stefanowicz, known as "Big Steve." The suit claims he directed some
of the torture tactics.

House
panel subpoenas top Cheney aide in torture probe 06 May 2008
The House Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to compel a top aide to
Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney to testify to the committee about the
Bush regime's interrogation practices. David Addington, Cheney's chief
of staff, refused to testify without a subpoena. No date has been set
for his appearance before Congress.

'Torture
memo' author, former attorney general, to testify 06 May 2008
A former Justice Department lawyer [John Yoo] who wrote a now-repudiated
memo allowing harsh interrogations torture of military prisoners
has agreed to testify to Congress about those practices, say House Judiciary
Committee officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the
panel has not yet made the announcement.

FBI
Agents Raid Work, Home of Special Counsel's Bloch
06 May 2008 Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided the Office
of Special Counsel here, seizing computers and documents belonging to
the agency chief Scott Bloch and staff. More than a dozen FBI agents
served grand jury subpoenas shortly after 10 a.m., shutting down the
agency's computer network and searching its offices, as well as Mr.
Bloch's home. Employees said the searches appeared focused on alleged
obstruction of justice by Mr. Bloch during the course of
an 2006 inquiry into his conduct in office.

FBI
raids special counsel's office 06 May 2008 The FBI has raided
the office of U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch in an inquiry of whether
he obstructed justice by having his computer files erased. FBI officials
said computers and documents were seized from Bloch's office during
the raid Tuesday morning. Investigators say Bloch is suspected of hiring
an outside company to scrub his computer amid a federal investigation
of alleged misconduct in his office.

Afghan,
Iraq wars have fuelled terrorism, violence: Asseri 05 May 2008
Saudi ambassador Ali S. Awadh Asseri has called for revisiting the logic
behind the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and engaging the combatants
in a dialogue to find lasting solutions to the conflicts. The ambassador
also said that wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had failed to address extremism
and violence, creating immense unrest in the Muslim World.

Top
commando says troops are low due to foreign wars
06 May 2008 Admiral Eric Olson, the top commando in the US, has said
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are making such use of the nation's
elite soldiers, they can no longer be used in other parts of the world.
He said he thought there was very little chance that the demand for
his special operations forces, such as the Green Berets in Iraq, would
decline soon.

Bush,
Democrats seek to fund Iraq war into next administration By
Bill Van Auken 06 May 2008 In a bid by the two major parties to prevent
November’s presidential election from being turned into a referendum
on the war in Iraq, the Bush administration and the Democratic leadership
in Congress are both working to craft new war funding legislation that
would pay for the fighting to continue at the present level well past
January, when the next president takes office. According to media reports,
the congressional Democrats are still debating how--not if--they will
approve the money needed to continue the ongoing wars against the peoples
of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Next
president will not cut defense spending, says Lockheed Martin CEO
29 Apr 2008. The top executive of Lockheed Martin Corp., the Bethesda,
Md.-based defense contracting behemoth, says he does not believe the
next U.S. president will cut military spending "in any wholesale fashion."
Robert Stevens, chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin made his
comment in an interview
published Friday in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Lockheed Martin
is the nation's largest defense contractor.

Iraq
in $6.37b deal to replace ageing planes 07 May 2008 Iraq yesterday
signed two deals worth US$5 billion ($6.37 billion) to buy 40 planes
from Boeing and 10 planes from Canada's Bombardier to upgrade Iraqi
Airways' ageing fleet, the finance minister said. The deals were signed
by Finance Minister Bayan Jabr in a ceremony attended by Iraq's Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki as well as US, British and Canadian diplomats.

Dozens
of Iraqi police detained in operation 06 May 2008 Iraqi soldiers
detained dozens of policemen and closed down a hospital suspected of
treating Shi'ite militiamen in a Baghdad stronghold of cleric Moqtada
al -Sadr's Mehdi Army, Iraqi security officials said on Tuesday.

US
kills 6 Sadr City residents 05 May 2008 US military operations
have left at least 6 Iraqi civilians dead and 40 wounded including women
and children in Baghdad's Sadr City. Iraqi security and medical officials
confirmed the civilians were killed and injured during 12 hours of intense
US operations overnight that ended at 8 a.m. (5:00 GMT) on Monday.

Canada's
Afghanistan Mission Threatened by Shortage of Parts 06 May 2008
Canada's military mission to help secure Afghanistan may be in jeopardy
because of failures to deliver spare parts, a federal audit shows. The
country's 2,500 or so troops in Afghanistan have managed to keep the
'mission' going by stripping some equipment for parts and other ad hoc
measures, Canadian Auditor General Sheila Fraser told reporters in Ottawa.

Blast
kills four children in Afghanistan 05 May 2008 Four Afghan children
were killed in an explosion caused by a war-era unexploded artillery
shell in the central capital Kabul on Monday. According to the Interior
Ministry, the explosion took place in western part of the city.

News
4 Investigates Illegal Internet Spying 05 May 2008 Nothing you
send in an e-mail, instant message, or anywhere else online is safe
from the prying eyes of government spies. That's according to a whistleblower
who used to work for AT&T. News 4 Investigates discovered documents
identifying a St. Louis area office building as the hub of that spying
program. Chief Investigative reporter Steve Chamraz shows
us why a secret room inside that building has privacy watchdogs
so concerned.

The
Secret Room By Steve Chamraz 05 May 2008 Bridgeton plays a crucial
role on the AT&T internet network, [former AT&T technician and whistleblower]
Mark Klein speculates
it would play a similarly key role on a "secret network" connecting
all those secret rooms. Two former Bridgeton employees came forward
as un-named sources in a 2006 Salon article
about the St. Louis County facility's role in an alleged spying program.
I also spoke with two former Bridgeton AT&T workers who confirmed the
building is home to a "secret room" that no one seems to enter.

Wireless
carriers give location to police without a warrant--Using
cell phones to find missing persons pushes law 04 May 2008 In missing
persons cases, cell phone providers require that officers assert a customer
may be in immediate danger -- "exigent circumstances" in the industry's
parlance -- before releasing the information, said Joyce Masamitsu,
associate director for state public policy for Verizon Wireless. Verizon
alone handled about 26,000 such requests last year. "All the officer
needs to do is confirm to us that an exigent circumstance exists," she
said.

Why
I Will Not Vote for John McCain By Phillip Butler (Doctor Phillip
Butler is a highly decorated combat veteran who was awarded two Silver
Stars, two Legion of Merits, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Heart medals.)
27 Mar 2008 As some of you might know, John McCain is a long-time acquaintance
of mine that goes way back to our time together at the U.S. Naval Academy
and as Prisoners of War in Vietnam. He is a man I respect and admire
in some ways. But there are a number of reasons why I will not vote
for him for President of the United States... I can verify that John
has an infamous reputation for being a hot head. He has a quick and
explosive temper that many have experienced first hand. Folks, quite
honestly that is not the finger I want next to that red button.

Turnouts
High for Primaries in N. Carolina and Indiana 06 May 2008 Election
officials in Indiana and North Carolina reported unusually high turnouts
in the Democratic primary voting there on Tuesday, with Senators Barack
Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton making a last-minute round of pitches
in these critical states.

Poll:
Obama clings to small lead over Clinton
06 May 2008 On the eve of the North Carolina Democratic Primary, with
25% of votes already cast, Barack Obama has no breathing room in his
hope to defeat Hillary Clinton in popular votes. According to SurveyUSA's
8th and final tracking poll, conducted exclusively for ABC11 Eyewitness
News, on the final day of the fiercely fought campaign, Senator Barack
Obama holds on with 50% of the vote to Senator Hillary Clinton's 45%
of those polled.

Clinton,
Obama, predict fight stretches to June 3 05 May 2008 Resolute
rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama straddled North Carolina
and Indiana on Monday on the eve of a pair of crucial primaries in the
unceasing contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Both predicted
the race would stretch into June, regardless of Tuesday's outcomes.

Exclusive:Dr.
Rec Meets the Last Elected President of the US--CLG chair
Michael Rectenwald discusses the campaign with President Bill Clinton
in Durham. 06 May 2008 Clinton said, "Did you see how that
lady jumped me over there?" I said, "No, what did she say?"
Bill replied, "She said, 'this is Obama country.' I told her, well,
that's nice to know. But if this is Obama country, why wouldn't Obama
debate here on his own turf?" [See: Bill
Clinton shakes hands, leaves for Indiana 06 May 2008.]

Bush
bin Laden is psychologically preparing us for another multi-billion-dollar
corporate welfare blowjob: Doubts
Raised on Big Backers of Mortgages --Companies were created
by Congress but are owned by investors 06 May 2008 As home prices continue
their free fall and banks shy away from lending, Washington officials
have increasingly relied on two giant mortgage companies -- Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac -- to keep the housing market afloat. Bush administration
officials, regulators and lawmakers are nervously asking whether these
two companies, would-be saviors of the housing market, will
soon need saving themselves. [LOL! I saw that one
marching down Broadway, from a mile away.]

Oil
prices hit record high 122.49 dollars 06 May 2008 Oil prices
spiked to a record high 122.49 dollars here on Tuesday as the market
was driven by concerns over 'violence in key producer Nigeria' and the
weak US currency, analysts said. After hitting the fresh high, New York's
main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, pulled
back slightly to stand at 122.35 dollars per barrel, still up 2.34 dollars
from Monday's close.

Myanmar
cyclone death toll soars past 22,000 06 May 2008 The cyclone
death toll soared above 22,000 on Tuesday and more than 41,000 others
were missing as the international community prepared to rush in aid
after the country's deadliest storm on record, state radio reported.

Insects
'will be climate change's first victims' [Too bad Bush isn't --he's
a lot further down on the evolutionary scale than the cockroach. --LRP]
Many tropical insect species, including butterflies, can only tolerate
a narrow range of temperatures, and an average rise of 1C to 2C could
be disastrous. 06 May 2008 Tropical insects rather than polar bears
could be among the first species to become extinct as a result of global
warming, a study has found. Insects in the tropics are already living
at the limit of their temperature range and any further increases could
quickly kill them off with huge repercussions for tropical habitats,
which rely on insects for everything from pollination to waste disposal.

Famous
polar cubs' dad dies 05 May 2008 Olaf, the polar bear father
of Klondike and Snow, died over the weekend, the Denver Zoo announced
today. Olaf was 22 years old. In November 1995, he fathered Klondike
and Snow, who soon became the darlings of Denver. Olaf also fathered
Ulaq and Berit at the Denver Zoo.

*****

Iraq
occupation costing U.S. a whopping $5.54m an hour 06 May 2008
President [sic] George W. Bush last week asked Congress to approve $70
billion in funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for the U.S. fiscal
year 2009, which begins on October 1, 2008. The Iraq war has already
cost U.S. taxpayers more than $500 billion dollars, and there is still
no end in sight to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. According to congressional
analysts, the eventual total cost of the Iraq war and the occupation
could be as high as $1.5 trillion – that’s $1,500 billion. This cost
does not include the cost of rebuilding Iraq’s shattered infrastructure.

Iraq
Signs Deals to Buy 40 Boeing Planes
05 May 2008 Iraq on Monday signed two deals worth $5 billion to buy
40 planes from Boeing and 10 planes from Canada's Bombardier to upgrade
Iraqi Airways' aging fleet, the finance minister said. The deals were
signed by Finance Minister Bayan Jabr in a ceremony attended by Iraq's
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as well as U.S., British and Canadian
diplomats. [No 'insurgents' at the ceremony?]

Boeing
finalizes $2.2 bln Iraq plane sale 05 May 2008 Boeing Co said
on Monday it sealed a $2.2 billion airliner order with the government
of Iraq. The deal, originally struck in February, is for 30 of Boeing's
single-aisle 737-800 jets, the world's most widely used planes for short-haul
flights. Boeing said it was still finalizing an agreement to sell Iraq
10 of its new 787 Dreamliners, worth about $1.65 billion at list prices,
which would allow for longer, intercontinental flights.

Want
to vacation in the Green Zone? --Washington wants to create
"zone of influence" around new $700 million U.S. Embassy to
serve as high-end buffer for the compound, whose total price tag will
reach about $1 billion after all workers and offices are relocated over
the next year. 05 May 2008 Forget rocket attacks, concrete blast
walls and no sewer system and try picturing luxury hotels, a shopping
center and even condos in the heart of Baghdad. It’s all part of an
ambitious five-year development "dream list" to transform
the U.S.-protected Green Zone from a walled fortress into a gleaming
centerpiece for Baghdad’s future. The $5 billion plan has Pentagon backing
and apparently the interest of leading hotel developers, said Navy Capt.
Thomas Karnowski, who led the team that created the development plan.

Defense
firm to pay $9.5M for obstruction 05 May 2008 A defense contractor
accused of overcharging the U.S. government for radar components pleaded
guilty Monday to obstruction and will pay $9.5 million in fines, federal
authorities said. Herley Industries, based in Lancaster County, Pa.,
admitted to two counts of obstructing audits of bids to supply components
for Navy and Air Force radar systems.

Top
US commando: More elite forces may be needed in Iraq 05 May
2008 Even as the overall U.S. force in Iraq shrinks, the number of elite
troops known as special operations forces [Blackwater's death squads]
is likely to grow, the military's top commando told The Associated Press
on Monday. More of these specially trained, often secretive forces may
be required in Iraq in order to fill a niche role in the development
of Iraqi security forces as the number of conventional Army troops goes
down, Adm. Eric T. Olson, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command,
said in an interview.

Bomb
attack on Iraqi President's wife 05 May 2008 Iraq's first lady
escaped unharmed from a bomb attack that hit her motorcade and injured
four body guards in downtown Baghdad yesterday. President Jalal Talabani's
wife, Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed, was headed to the National Theater to attend
a cultural festival when her motorcade was hit in the Karrada district
of Baghdad, the president's office said.

Iraq
says to document Iran "interference" 05 May 2008 Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki has ordered the formation of a committee to
compile evidence of Iranian "interference" in Iraq that will then be
presented to Tehran, the government spokesman said on Sunday. At an
earlier news conference, Ali al-Dabbagh appeared to distance the government
from U.S. accusations of Iranian interference in Iraq. He had said Iraq
would not be pushed into conflict with its neighbour and wanted its
own inquiry to find "tangible information and not information based
on speculation."

Iraqi
official says Iran arms evidence not conclusive 04 May 2008
A top Iraqi official said Sunday there was no conclusive evidence that
Shiite extremists have been directly supplied with some Iranian arms
as alleged by the United States. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh
said Iraq does not want trouble with any country, "especially Iran."

Democratic
candidates agree on expanded US military aggression in the Middle East
By Patrick Martin 05 May 2008 In dueling television appearances Sunday
morning, Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary
Clinton declared their determination to escalate US military action
in the Middle East, disagreeing mainly over which country should be
targeted first. Obama called for a "surge" of US troops into
Afghanistan, while Clinton reaffirmed her bloodcurdling rhetoric about
the "obliteration" of Iran.

Obama
accuses Clinton of using the language of Bush on Iran 05 May
2008 Barack Obama yesterday accused his rival for the Democratic nomination,
Hillary Clinton, of adopting the language of the Bush presidency [sic]
in her approach to dealing with a nuclear Iran. In the sharpest attack,
Obama said that Clinton's threat to "totally obliterate" Iran should
it attempt a nuclear attack on Israel was inappropriate. "It's not the
language we need right now. It's language that's reflective of George
Bush," he said.

US
'to send 7,000 extra troops to Afghanistan' 05 May 2008 The
US is drawing up plans to send 7,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan
to combat a resurgent Taleban and al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh], at a time when
Nato countries appear unwilling to contribute further forces. The plans,
which have yet to be formalised or sent to the White House, would increase
the number of US troops in Afghanistan to about 40,000, the largest
American presence since the war began more than six years ago.

Three
children killed by blast in Afghan capital 05 May 2008 Three
children were killed in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Monday by an explosion
of ordnance left over from in the country's long civil war, the Interior
Ministry said. Two more children were wounded in the blast after they
knocked the munition against a rock in a residential area.

Released
journalist describes Guantanamo as the worst prison ever 05
May 2008 A Sudanese Al-Jazeera cameraman released from the U.S.-run
Guantanamo Bay detention center described it Monday as the worst
prison mankind has ever seen, in some of his first public
comments since his return to Khartoum. "After 2,340 days spent in most
heinous prison mankind has ever known, we are honored to be here, thank
you and thank all those defended us and of our right in freedom," he
told the cheering crowd. Al-Haj was the only journalist from a major
international news organization held at Guantanamo and many of his
supporters saw his detention as punishment for a network whose broadcasts
angered U.S. officials.

Journalist
released from Guantánamo details abuse By Naomi Spencer 05 May
2008 After six years of imprisonment without charge, a well-known cameraman
for Al Jazeera news was released May 1 by the US military. The reporter,
Sami al-Hajj, was captured in 2001 while covering the US invasion of
Afghanistan and subjected to the torture and abuse that is routine at
US military-run prison camps.

Few
Details on Immigrants Who Died in U.S. Custody 05 May 2008 Detainee
Boubacar Bah is one of 66 on a government list of deaths that occurred
in immigration custody from January 2004 to November 2007. The list,
compiled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after Congress demanded
the information, and obtained by The New York Times under the Freedom
of Information Act, is the fullest accounting to date of deaths in immigration
detention, a patchwork of federal centers, county jails and privately
run prisons that has become the nation’s fastest-growing form of
incarceration. [See: KBR
awarded $385M Homeland Security contract for U.S. detention centers
24 Jan 2006.]

Military,
DHS document details who should live and die in pandemic--Nazi-style
hospital blueprint lists those who will be left to die - elderly, sick,
weakest
05 May 2008 An influential group of physicians has drafted a grimly
specific list of recommendations for which patients who would be allowed
to die during a [US-engendered]
flu pandemic or other disaster. The suggested list was compiled by the
military, Department of Homeland Security,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health
and Human Services, government agencies, prestigious universities, and
medical groups. To prepare, hospitals should designate a triage team
with the Godlike task of deciding who will and who won't get lifesaving
care, the task force wrote.

'One
knowledgeable source claims that 8 million Americans are now listed
in Main Core as potentially suspect.'The
Last Round Up
By Christopher Ketcham 29 Apr 2008 According to a senior government
official who served with high-level security clearances in five administrations,
"There exists a database of Americans, who, often for the slightest
and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time
of panic, might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate
perceived 'enemies of the state' almost instantaneously." He and
other sources tell Radar that the database is sometimes referred
to by the code name Main Core... In the event of a national emergency,
these people could be subject to everything from heightened surveillance
and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention. Of course,
federal law is somewhat vague as to what might constitute a "national
emergency."

Florida
court to hear arguments in anthrax death lawsuit
05 May 2008 The Florida Supreme Court on Monday is taking up key issues
in a lawsuit over the anthrax death of a photo editor for a publisher.
Robert Stevens died Oct. 5, 2001 after being exposed to the deadly substance.
It was in an envelope mailed to the offices of American Media Inc..
His wife sued the federal government and a private laboratory, claiming
they both had a duty to protect the public from anthrax.

'D.C.
Madam' Suicide Notes Released by Florida Police, ABC Says 05
May 2008 Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the "D.C. Madam" who [allegedly]
committed suicide last week, left behind a note for her mother saying
she couldn't bear prison, ABC News reported.
The note, released today by Florida police, said Palfrey took her own
life because she didn't want to go to prison for six to eight years
and emerge from jail penniless and alone, according to ABC. Palfrey
also left a message for her sister, ABC said.

Taser
International Wins Lawsuit In Cause-of-Death Decision 02 May
2008 Taser International has fired a warning shot at medical examiners
across the country. The Scottsdale-based stun gun manufacturer increasingly
is targeting state and county medical examiners with lawsuits and lobbying
efforts to reverse and prevent medical rulings that Tasers contributed
to someone's death. That effort on Friday helped lead an Ohio judge's
order to remove Taser's name from three Summit County Medical Examiner
autopsies that had ruled the stun gun contributed to three men's deaths.
"It is dangerously close to intimidation," says Jeff Jentzen, president
of the National Association of Medical Examiners. "At this point, we
adamantly reject the fact that people can be sued for medical opinions
that they make."

Tasers
a form of torture, says UN 24 Nov 2007 Taser electronic stun
guns are a form of torture that can kill, a UN committee has declared
after several recent deaths in North America. "The use of these weapons
causes acute pain, constituting a form of torture,'' the UN's Committee
against Torture said. "In certain cases, they can even cause death,
as has been shown by reliable studies and recent real-life events,''
the committee of 10 experts said.

Bomber
targets San Diego courthouse 04 May 2008 A pipe bomb or series
of pipe bombs exploded at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Courthouse
downtown early Sunday morning, sending shrapnel into a courtyard and
to the eighth floor of a building across the street. Two guards with
the Federal Protective Service, who were inside the building, called
authorities when they heard the explosion at 1:40 a.m. The guards, who
work for a federal agency that is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, were not injured.

U.S.
Has One Fourth of World's Prisoners 23 Apr 2008 The United
States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population. But it has
almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners. Americans are locked up for
crimes -- from writing bad checks to using drugs -- that would rarely
produce prison sentences in other countries. And in particular they
are kept incarcerated far longer than prisoners in other nations. Criminologists
and legal scholars in other industrialized nations say they are mystified
and appalled by the number and length of American prison sentences.

North
Carolina, Indiana rewarded for later contests
05 May 2008 North Carolina, which holds its primary Tuesday, got an
additional 24 delegates for moving its presidential nominating contest
from April to May. Indiana, which also has its primary Tuesday, got
six extra delegates for keeping its primary in May. North Carolina has
115 pledged delegates at stake, Indiana has 72. If only Florida and
Michigan had the same foresight.

Voters
may put Hillary Clinton in position to halt Barack Obama 06
May 2008 Hillary Clinton’s campaign is talking of a "nuclear option".
If she wins in Indiana and does well enough in North Carolina in today’s
crucial primaries, her campaign believes it may yet be able to overturn
party rules that currently ban delegates awarded in her vexed "victories"
in Florida and Michigan. The theory is that it would help her to overtake
Barack Obama in the popular vote, cut his lead among elected delegates
to less than 100, and give wavering super-delegates an excuse to choose
her as the presidential candidate in defiance of the results from Democratic
primaries and caucuses.

Obama's
Chilly Spring --Once-Cordial Press Coverage Turns Decidedly
Cool By Howard Kurtz 05 May 2008 For journalists, he [David Greenberg,
a Rutgers University professor of journalism and history] says, "there
has been a real infatuation with Obama that has served as almost an
unconscious restraint" as many became "taken with the idea of demonstrating
their tolerance and America's tolerance by electing a black candidate."
What loosened those restraints, Greenberg says, was the media's conclusion
that Obama had virtually wrapped up his nomination fight against Hillary
Clinton. "It's backwards -- the toughest scrutiny should come while
it's still a real fight," he says.

The
All-White Elephant in the Room
By Frank Rich 04 May 2008 I wonder if Mr. McCain would have given the
same answer had Mr. Stephanopoulos confronted him with the graphic video
of the pastor in full "Great Whore" glory. But Mr. McCain
didn’t have to fear so rude a transgression. Mr. [John] Hagee’s videos
have never had the same circulation on television as Mr. Wright’s. A
sonorous white preacher spouting venom just doesn’t have the telegenic
zing of a theatrical black man. Perhaps that’s why virtually no one
has rebroadcast the highly relevant prototype for Mr. Wright’s fiery
claim that 9/11 was America’s chickens "coming home to roost."

NY
company recalls 286,000 pounds of meat 05 May 2008 A Queens-based
food company, Gourmet Boutique, is recalling more than 286,000 pounds
of meat and poultry because they might be contaminated with the bacteria
Listeria monocytogenes. The food-borne bacteria can cause illness and
death.

Polar
bear dies at Denver Zoo 05 May 2008 A 22-year-old polar bear
died Saturday at the Denver Zoo. Olaf, the father of Klondike, Snow,
Ulaq and Berit, lived at the Denver Zoo for 21 years. He came from Omaha's
Henry Doorly Zoo in March of 1987. [Poor bear... Please sign petition
to stop Bush bin Laden from killing the rest of them for Exxon Mobil.]

*****

U.S.
is drawing up plans to strike Iranian insurgency camp 04 May
2008 The US military is drawing up plans for a "surgical strike"
against an insurgent training camp inside Iran if Republican Guards
continue with attempts to destabilise Iraq, western intelligence sources
said last week. One source said the Americans were growing increasingly
angry at the [alleged] involvement of the Guards’ special-operations
Quds force inside Iraq, training Shi’ite militias and smuggling weapons
into the country. "If the situation in Basra goes back to what
it was like before, America is likely to blame Iran and carry out a
surgical strike on a militant training camp across the border in Khuzestan,"
said one source, referring to a frontier province.

Iraq
says no hard evidence of Iranian support for militia 04 May
2008 Iraq said on Sunday it has no evidence that Iran was supplying
militias engaged in fierce street fighting with security forces in Baghdad.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said there was no "hard evidence"
of involvement by the neighbouring Shiite government of Iran in backing
Shiite militiamen in the embattled country.

Iraq's
first lady unharmed after her motorcade is bombed 04 May 2008
A bomb hit a motorcade carrying Iraq's first lady through Baghdad on
Sunday. The motorcade bombing in Baghdad's Karrada district injured
four of Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed's bodyguards but left her unharmed, according
to the office of her husband, President Jalal Talabani.

Gunmen
kill Iraqi journalist 04 May 2008 [Blackwater] Gunmen shot dead
an Iraqi reporter on Sunday after hauling her out of a taxi in Mosul,
a notoriously violent city in northern Iraq where journalists are often
targeted and live in fear of their lives. Police said Serwa Abdul-Wahab
was on her way to work when gunmen forced her out of the taxi in eastern
Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, and shot her once in the
head.

US
bombs Baghdad hospital
03 May 2008 A US rocket damaged a hospital in the Iraqi capital's Shi'ite
stronghold of Sadr City on Saturday, wounding 28 people as American
forces claimed to have killed 14 'militants' in the district. . An AFP
reporter at the scene said the district's main al-Sadr hospital was
badly damaged and a fleet of ambulances was destroyed.

5
U.S. soldiers killed by roadside bombs in Iraq 04 May 2008 Five
US soldiers have been killed in two attacks in Iraq, the U.S. military
said Sunday. Also in the southern city of Basra, the Iraqi army blew
up a mosque housing the headquarters of the Shia Thaarallah party.

The
awfully nice guys allowing US torture at Guantanamo Bay--Philippe
Sands, a British QC, has exposed the 'decent' lawyers who made the brutal
interrogation of Guantanamo detainees possible 04 May 2008 The interrogation
room in Guantanamo Bay, Christmas Eve 2002. Detainee 063 – an Al-Qaeda
suspect called Mohamed al-Kahtani... is crying in his chair. It is his
33rd day of continuous interrogation – a month with almost no sleep
– and the interrogators have started up with the white noise again and
are pouring water over his head... Happy Christmas, Mohamed. Good Christian
men, rejoice... The thing is – they knew. It was the US government's
explicit policy to wipe away the Geneva conventions and subject the
supposedly most dangerous captives to what were euphemistically called
"aggressive" interrogation techniques – techniques that flouted
international law. The people behind the policy are therefore, according
to the British human rights lawyer Philippe Sands, criminals who may
well face charges should they choose to take a holiday in, say, France
or Germany.

Probe
of USS Cole Bombing Unravels'In a hearing at Guantanamo
last year, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri said he confessed to masterminding
the Cole attack only because he had been tortured.' 04 May 2008
Almost eight years after al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] nearly sank the USS Cole
with an explosives-stuffed motorboat, killing 17 sailors, all the defendants
convicted in the attack have escaped from prison or been freed by Yemeni
officials. Khaled al-Anesi, an attorney for some of the Cole defendants,
said... he is still mystified by the government's subsequent handling
of the case. "There's something that doesn't smell right," he said.
"It was all very strange. After these people were convicted in unfair
trials, all of a sudden it was announced that they had escaped. And
then the government announced they had surrendered, but we still don't
know how they escaped or if they had help."

Scotland's
new counter-terrorism chief: neo-Nazis as much of a threat as al-Qaeda
[But not as much of a threat as Bush.] 04 May 2008 Scotland's
new terror tsar has warned that the threat from right-wing extremism
is as damaging to community relations as the menace posed by al-Qaeda
[al-CIAduh]. In an exclusive interview on his first day as the Association
of Chief Police Officers in Scotland's counter terrorism co-ordinator,
Allan Burnett said forces should not ignore the latent neo-Nazi presence
across the UK.

Corruption
eats away at Afghan government
03 May 2008 The man considered by many observers to be the most powerful
and feared figure in the Afghan south is Ahmed Wali Karzai, appointed
by his brother, President Hamid Karzai, to represent Kandahar province
in Kabul. A U.S. government document leaked to ABC News two years ago
accused him of being the central figure in the region's vast opium-export
market, which produces the majority of the world's opium and heroin.
This week, senior U.S. and British officials said in interviews that
they believe he enables, and likely profits from, opium shipments across
southern Afghanistan to Iran, and prevents opium crops of those who
support him from being eradicated... A campaign is underway to get the
former mujahedeen fighter Gul Agha Sherzai, removed from the same office.
Mr. Sherzai had admitted to receiving $1-million a week from his
share of import duties and from the opium trade, and was considered
violent and dangerous. He was immediately
made governor of U.S.-led Nangarhar province in the east.
U.S. officials said that they believe he has a net worth of $300-million
from his time running Kandahar.

Robobug
goes to war: Troops to use electronic insects to spot enemy 'by end
of the year' 04 May 2008 British defence giant BAE Systems is
creating a series of tiny electronic spiders, insects and snakes that
could become the eyes and ears of soldiers on the battlefield, helping
to save thousands of lives. Prototypes could be on the front line by
the end of the year, scuttling into potential danger areas such as booby-trapped
buildings or enemy hideouts to relay images back to troops safely positioned
nearby.

Seized
funds often not used for crime war
--Hundreds of thousands of RICO dollars went for uses other than
law enforcement 04 May 2008 Pima County law enforcement agencies
seized almost $24 million from criminals over the last five years under
state and federal forfeiture laws. The vast majority of that money was
channeled back into the war on crime... But an Arizona Daily Star investigation
of how those funds were spent over the last five years found hundreds
of thousands of dollars that could have been spent on law enforcement
or crime prevention went instead for banquets, promotional items such
as golf tees and polo shirts, expensive office furniture and funeral
flowers.

Building
Manager: DC Madam's Death Not Suicide 02 May 2008 The building
manager of a Central Florida condo said he spent time talking to Deborah
Jean Palfrey on Monday as she packed to go to her mother's house and
she did not seem suicidal. For the past 12 years, she's owned a condo
at Park Lake Towers in Orlando. Palfrey’s building manager said she
often told him she believed she was being followed and he thinks there
may have been some former clients of her escort service who wanted her
dead. "She insinuated that there is a contract out for her and I fully
believe they succeeded," her building manager said. Palfrey's Lexus
is still parked in the Park Lake garage and the staff said on Monday,
she asked about making sure her condo fees would continue to be paid
during what Palfrey anticipated would be six years in prison.

Larry
Flynt: 'D.C. Madam' murdered 01 May 2008 Police in Tarpon Springs,
Fla., said there was "no question" that Deborah Jeane Palfrey committed
suicide by hanging Thursday, but that was not enough to stop speculation
that the "D.C. Madam" was the victim of murder. Hustler magazine publisher
and free-speech advocate Larry Flynt, one of Palfrey's staunchest advocates,
was forwarding the notion that Palfrey's death was not by her own hands.
"I think the media should be very cautious in treating this as a suicide,"
Flynt told FOXNews.com in a telephone interview. Asked if he believed
Palfrey was murdered, Flynt responded: "I personally believe that's
what happened, but I have no proof."

CBS
Poll: Support For Obama Rebounds 04 May 2008 Democrat Barack
Obama appears to have rebounded from some of the damage caused by the
controversy surrounding his former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, according
to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll. On one key measure, Obama
has seen a big reversal since his denunciation of Wright's remarks on
Tuesday.

Obama
criticizes Clinton over Iran threat 04 May 2008 Barack Obama
likened Hillary Clinton to President [sic] Bush for threatening to "totally
obliterate" Iran if it attacks Israel and called her gas-tax holiday
a gimmick as he tried to fend off her challenge ahead of two pivotal
Democratic primaries.

Clinton's
'nuclear option:' Force Fla, Mich. 04 May 2008 There are a lot
of "ifs'' in the "nuclear option'' that Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign
could consider for claiming her party's nomination, the way Tom Edsall
tells it: If Clinton does well or outright wins in Indiana and/or North
Carolina this week, if her argument for electability takes hold and
if enough party activists are willing to withstand the revolt that would
ensue, Clinton could force a vote of the party's bylaws committee to
seat the disputed, Clinton-rich delegations of Florida and Michigan
and overtake Barack Obama's delegate lead.

Clinton
takes time for girl talk 03 May 2008 (Cary, NC) Forget about
policy speeches and wooing superdelegates. For Hillary Rodham Clinton,
Saturday morning was devoted to chick chat -- a panel discussion with
a group of working moms on topics ranging from girl-on-girl violence
to her daughter's early dating years.

Sen.
Clinton criticizes Exxon Mobil selloff 01 May 2008 Exxon posted
a 17% rise in first-quarter earnings, to $10.9 billion, or $2.03 a share.
But shares fell 3% in afternoon trading, as the numbers missed Wall
Street’s expectations and investors worried about an unusual production
decline. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton indicated in an afternoon statement
from her presidential campaign office that she’s enraged by the implication
of Thursday’s selloff - that Exxon isn’t making enough money. "There
is something seriously wrong with our economy when Exxon's record $11
billion in quarterly profits are seen as a disappointment by Wall Street,"
Clinton said.

ExxonMobil
expands Torrance oil contamination payouts 03 May 2008 (CA)
ExxonMobil has expanded to 19 the number of homeowners it is offering
some form of financial assistance to in the wake of the discovery of
contaminated soil from gasoline products in a Torrance residential neighborhood
adjacent its sprawling refinery.

Federal
judge rejects latest Katrina damage immunity bid by Army Corps of Engineers
03 May 2008 Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr. of the US Eastern District of
Louisiana ruled again Friday that the US Army Corps of Engineers cannot
claim immunity from suit in connection with damages suffered by plaintiffs
by virtue of alleged defects in the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MRGO).
Duval said that the outlet was a shipping channel and not a flood control
outlet in connection with which the Corps would have been properly immune
in tort. He rejected the Corps' argument that the MRGO was nonetheless
part of a larger flood control system in the New Orleans area.

Mega
barf alert!Outrage
at European moves to feed animal remains to chickens 04 May
2008 The European Union is preparing plans to allow pig remains to be
used to feed poultry. The practice - banned in Europe after the BSE
crisis 10 years ago - would save farmers millions of pounds as prices
of cereal feed for chickens soar, say officials in Brussels. But the
proposal has outraged animal rights campaigners, Muslim organisations
and other groups. They claim the move would put families at risk, offend
religious sensibilities and lead to a major consumer backlash.

*****

KBR's
Flawed Wiring Still Kills G.I.'s, Despite Alert04
May 2008 In October 2004, the United States Army issued an urgent bulletin
to commanders across Iraq, warning them of a deadly new threat to American
soldiers. Because of flawed electrical work by contractors [KBR], the
bulletin stated, soldiers at American bases in Iraq had received severe
electrical shocks, and some had even been electrocuted. American electricians
who worked for KBR, the Houston-based defense contractor that is responsible
for maintaining American bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, said they repeatedly
warned company managers and military officials about unsafe electrical
work... A third electrician provided e-mail messages and other documents
showing that he had complained to KBR and the government that logs
were created to make it appear that nonexistent electrical safety systems
were properly functioning. KBR itself told the Pentagon in early
2007 about unsafe electrical wiring at a base near the Baghdad airport,
but no repairs were made. Less than a year later, a soldier was electrocuted
in a shower there. [See: KBR
first-quarter profit soars, shares climb 02 May 2008. See: KBR's
first quarter exceeds expectations 02 May 2008.]

'18
years after Congress required major federal agencies to be audited,
the Pentagon still can't be.' The
Pentagon's $1 Trillion Problem
--It's as if the Army had submitted multibillion-dollar
expense reports without any receipts. By Scot Paltrow 14
Apr 2008 Since 2004, the Pentagon has spent roughly $16 billion annually
to maintain and modernize the military's business systems, but most
are as unreliable as ever--even as the surge in defense spending is
creating more room for error. The basic defense budget for 2007 was
$439.3 billion, up 48 percent from 2001, excluding the vast additional
sums appropriated for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan... For the first
three quarters of 2007, $1.1 trillion in Army accounting entries hadn't
been properly reviewed and substantiated, according to the Department
of Defense's inspector general. In 2006, $258.2 billion of recorded
withdrawals and payments from the Army's main account were unsupported...
Without an audit, anecdotal evidence suggests, contractor fraud is likely
to go undetected for years.

Waste
Deep in the Big Muddy By Scot Paltrow 14 Apr 2008 Reformers
have repeatedly lost the battle to modernize the U.S. military's financial
systems.

Bush
asks for more war money 02 May 2008 President [sic] Bush has
put in a US$70 billion request to
Congress, for funding US war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He
has said he wants the funding to continue so that the incoming 'president'
will have time to make the appropriate war policy.

Bush
seeks $193 million for Pakistan in Iraq war funds request 02
May 2008 President [sic] Bush said earlier this week that $108 billion
is $108 billion, and he would allow no more than that on the latest
Iraq funding bill. But, Bush today requested $70 billion in funding
that would pay for Iraq operations into the next presidency. The $70
billion is for fiscal 2009, and the pending $108 billion is for fiscal
2008. Bush's request released Friday also includes $193 million for
Pakistan. [See: Billions
in U.S. Aid to Pakistan Wasted, Officials Assert 24 Dec 2007
After the United States has spent more than $5
billion in a largely failed effort to bolster the Pakistani
military effort against 'Al Qaeda' and the Taliban, some American officials
now acknowledge that there were too few controls over the money
Blackwater got a $5 billion blowjob from Bush. See: US
Senate approves Pakistan aid worth $785m 20 Dec 2007 The US
Senate has approved a $785 million
assistance package for Pakistan for the fiscal year 2008 on Tuesday
night.]

Cheney
says war on [of] terror is on right track 02 May 2008 The U.S.
is on track in Iraq and Afghanistan, the answer to higher gasoline prices
is more oil wells and more refineries, and America and the world are
better for the George W. Bush p_residency, Vice President [sic] Dick
Cheney told Oklahoma Republicans Friday evening at the Crowne Plaza
Hotel.

US
Bombs Iraq Hospital 03 May 2008 The US Air Force bombed a hospital
in Sadr City district in the capital, wounding about twenty people,
among them women and children. At 10:00 local hour, several missiles
were launched by the occupation troops against the health facility,
one of the three biggest of that locality. They also destroyed the building
and considerably damaged 17 ambulances, said witnesses and medical sources
of the attack, confirmed by a spokesman of US Army.

U.S.
Missiles Strike Sadr City, Hospital and Children Hit 04 May
2008 The ugly daily fight for ground in the poor Shiite neighborhood
of Sadr City unfolded Saturday at a small mosque next door to a hospital,
damaging the hospital and a number of its ambulances, and near a group
of children who were injured by the [US] violence as they gathered tin
cans to sell for salvage. The missiles that hit close to the Sadr General
Hospital were American. After a night of clashes in the neighborhood,
the Americans fired at least three "precision-guided munitions"
at the small building next door to the hospital. [Um, either the
'precision-guided' missiles *aren't* or Bush bin Laden meant to strike
a mosque and a hospital, killing as many Iraqis as possible. I am thinking
*the latter.* --LRP]

US
soldier killed in Baghdad blast 03 May 2008 An American soldier
died when his vehicle was hit by a roadside blast in the Iraqi capital
Baghdad, the US military here said Saturday.

Iraq
Boy's Family Describes Fatal Blast --Parents Tell ABC News
About the US Bombing that Killed Their 2-Year-Old Boy 02 May 2008
Just like any other day, the Hussein family was getting ready for lunch
at their home in Baghdad, Iraq, when the house suddenly shook and the
brick walls came down around them. That was the dramatic account told
to ABC News by the parents of 2-year-old Ali Hussein, the Iraqi boy
killed during a fierce battle in Sadr City Tuesday.

U.S.
weighs thousands more troops for Afghan war: paper 03 May 2008
The Pentagon is considering sending up to 7,000 more U.S. troops to
Afghanistan next year to make up for a shortfall in contributions from
NATO allies, The New York Times reported
on Saturday. Citing unnamed Bush administration officials, the Times
said the push could drive U.S. forces in Afghanistan to some 40,000,
the highest level since the United States invaded the country in 2001
and 'toppled' the Taliban government. One official said it would likely
result in "the re-Americanization" of the war.

"Torture
is terrorism", ex-Guantanamo man tells US 02 May 2008 Al Jazeera
journalist Sami al-Haj returned home to Sudan on Friday after more than
six years in the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay prison, urging Washington to
respect human rights and branding torture as terrorism. Haj said he
and the other Guantanamo detainees had been subjected to all kinds of
torture, but the worst had been when his jailers insulted Islam or desecrated
the Koran in front of prisoners. "Security and human rights are inseparable
issues -- you cannot have one without the other," he told Reuters in
an interview... "My last message to the U.S. administration is that
torture will not stop terrorism -- torture is terrorism."

Major
powers agree new incentives offer to Iran 03 May 2008 Major
powers agreed on Friday to make a new offer of incentives to Iran to
halt its sensitive nuclear work and a European diplomat said helping
Tehran develop civil atomic power remained at the heart of the proposal.

US
Navy infectious disease lab under microscope in Indonesia
--US insists all American staff at disease lab be given diplomatic
immunity 02 May 2008 The future of a major US Navy research laboratory
in Indonesia is in doubt amid allegations, dismissed as "crazy" by US
diplomats, of espionage and secret experiments. Negotiations
between Washington and Jakarta over the renewal of the operating contract
of US Naval Medical Research Unit-2, or Namru-2, have stalled over a
range of issues including diplomatic immunity for its US staff. Established
in Indonesia in 1970 and charged with researching infectious diseases
of military importance [aka *bioterrorism*], the facility
employs 19 Americans... and is based in Indonesian health ministry grounds.
Parliamentary foreign affairs commissioner Mutamimul Ula called Thursday
for an "investigation into allegations that Namru-2 staffers were involved
in intelligence operations." The controversy and the delays in the renewal
of the contract appear to be causing a degree of angst among US officials
in the departments of health and state, reflecting
the importance Washington attaches to the facility.

Jakarta,
US at odds over 'spy' lab 03 May 2008 Negotiations over whether
a controversial US military laboratory should remain in Indonesia have
reached a knife-edge, as officials argue about biological [bird flu]
sample-sharing and the diplomatic status of staff in the facility. Health
Minister Siti Fadilah Supari may in fact be close to sacrificing her
job, after a senior government source told The Weekend Australian that
her bellicose [?!?] rhetoric, including comments on the bird flu epidemic
in a rambling treatise entitled "Time for the world to change: the hand
of God in bird flu" - had made life "awkward" for fellow ministers.

Voting
system creator dies in plane crash 01 May 2008 A founding partner
of the Smartmatic voting system, headquartered in Boca Raton, was killed
this week in Venezuela when a private plane he was traveling in plummeted
into a home near the Caracas airport. Alfredy Jose Anzola Jaumotte,
34, one of the creators of the voting system program, died at an area
hospital Tuesday. According to the Federal Aviation Agency in the United
States, the aircraft is owned by Aircraft Guaranty & Trust of Houston.

One
of Palfrey's former employees died by her own hand 02 May 2008
Deborah Jeane Palfrey seems to have followed one of her former employees
to suicide -- a fate she once prided herself on having avoided. Brandy
Britton, 43, died by suicide in January 2007, days before she was scheduled
to stand trial on prostitution charges... Before her death, Palfrey
said Britton, a former University of Maryland Baltimore County professor,
was one of her employees.

Palfrey
rejected suicide in May 2007 interview --'DC Madam:' 'I'd
never want my life to end in suicide' 01 May 2008 Deborah Jeane
Palfrey (aka the 'DC Madam,' who was found
hanged in Tarpon Springs, Florida on Thursday) sat down in May 2007
for an interview with Carol Joynt, host of the Q&A Cafe interview series...
For Palfrey, one thing was crystal clear during that interview: She
would never end her life by hanging herself. Joynt brought up the subject
of Brandy Britton, a Baltimore prostitute whom had occasionally worked
for Palfrey and whom had hanged
herself in January 2007, only days away from facing prostitution
charges. Palfrey told Joynt in no uncertain terms: "I don't want to
be like her. I don't want to end up like her." [See CLG's 'DC
Madam' Phone Records & Updates.]

'There
is no question this is about Dow.' Embattled
EPA administrator for Midwest resigns 02 May 2008 The top U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the Midwest resigned
Thursday amid internal fights over dioxin contamination near Dow Chemical
Co.'s world headquarters in Michigan, according to a published report.
Mary Gade, regional administrator of EPA Region 5, told
the Chicago Tribune she resigned as regional administrator of EPA Region
5 after two top EPA officials stripped her of her powers and told her
to quit or be fired by June 1.

Clinton
Says In Race After Tuesday 03 May 2008 Hillary Clinton suggested
today that she intends to contest primaries beyond Tuesday, but stopped
short of saying she’d take her bid for the nomination to the convention.."

Suddenly,
N. Carolina Is Facing Tighter Race 03 May 2008 Just days before
the North Carolina primary, the Democratic presidential contest in this
state is suddenly alive with a fresh air of competition, as Senator
Hillary Rodham Clinton seeks to capitalize on a controversy that polls
suggest has whittled away some of Senator Barack Obama’s support among
white voters.

Party
of Denial By Paul Krugman 02 May 2008 During Barack Obama’s
Sunday appearance on Fox News, the interviewer asked him for an example
of "a hot-button issue where you would be willing to buck the Democratic
Party line" and say that Republicans have the better idea. Mr.
Obama’s answer was puzzling because he gave credit where it isn’t due
-- and thereby undermined what could be a very effective Democratic
line of argument... To be clear, both Democratic candidates have been
saying things they shouldn’t... But I think Mr. Obama is doing much
more harm to the Democratic cause by echoing Republican attack lines
on such issues as insurance mandates and Social Security.

U.S.
moving to clear backlog of executions 03 May 2008 (Huntsville,
TX) Here in the nation's leading death-penalty state, and some of the
35 others that practice capital punishment, execution dockets are quickly
filling up. Less than three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ended
a seven-month halt in lethal injections, at least 14 execution dates
have now been set in six states between May 6 and October.

May
blizzard shuts down parts of S. Dakota 02 May 2008 The mayor
of Rapid City, S.D., Friday pleaded with residents to stay home as a
May blizzard closed down streets and highways in parts of the state.
"Please, stay off the roads until the weather clears. The wind is still
gusting to 50 mph with heavy snow," said Mayor Alan Hanks.

*****

General:
Homeland response task force to be ready by fall 27 Apr 2008
The Pentagon will have its first specially trained task force designed
to rapidly respond to a [Bush] catastrophic attack against the United
States ready by this fall, a top military commander said last week.
Gen. Victor "Gene" Renuart, chief of the U.S. Northern Command,
said the brigade-sized unit will consist of military personnel who are
trained to help local authorities respond to a chemical, biological
or nuclear incident. The unit will have between 4,000 and 4,500 people
and come from various bases and specialties across the country. [Bye-bye,
Posse
Comitatus. Bush
is planning an 'October surprise,' so that he can declare martial law
and extend the GOP dictatorship via Insane McCain.]

Transition
to New President in Wartime Concerns the Military--Mullen
Cites U.S. 'Vulnerability' [The sociopaths in the Bush regime
are trying to mentally prepare us for a third coup!] 01 May 2008
The nation's top military officer warned yesterday that the transition
to a new an American president will mark a "time of vulnerability"
as the United States fights two wars, and he said military leaders are
already actively preparing for the changing of the guard. The chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, said the
U.S. political transition will be "extraordinarily challenging," particularly
as the military is engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan and faces interference
in both countries from Iran.

Lawmakers
seek probe of Pentagon public relations program 02 May 2008
Forty-one House members are calling on the Defense Department inspector
general to investigate a public relations effort that relied on retired
military officers to defend the administration's Iraq war policies.
"When the Department of Defense misleads the American people by having
them believe that they are listening to the views of objective military
analysts when in fact these individuals are simply replaying DoD talking
points, the department is clearly betraying the public trust," the lawmakers
wrote in a joint letter to Defense Department Inspector General Claude
M. Kicklighter on Friday.

CIA
'preparing public for Iran war' 01 May 2008 The CIA accuses
Iran of 'facilitating the killing' of US troops in Iraq in what is seen
as another attempt to prepare the public for war. In a Wednesday lecture
at Kansas State University, CIA Director Michael Hayden claimed that
slaying US military forces has become the political strategy of Iran's
highest governmental officials. "It is my opinion, it is the policy
of the Iranian government, approved to highest level of that government,
to facilitate the killing of Americans in Iraq," maintained Hayden,
just a day after the US steamed a second American aircraft carrier into
the Persian Gulf. "Just make sure there's clarity on that," the CIA
director continued.

Gates:
Expanding US command in Afghanistan is possibility 02 May 2008
The idea of giving the U.S. military more authority in areas of Afghanistan
now under NATO command is "worth taking a look at," Defense Secretary
Robert Gates said Friday. It was the first time Gates had indicated
he was receptive to the idea, which has not yet been developed into
a formal proposal but is under active discussion in the Pentagon.

Bush
seeks 70 billion dollars for Iraq, Afghan war 02 May 2008 US
President [sic] George W. Bush on Friday formally asked lawmakers for
70 billion dollars to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into early
next year. The monies include 45.1 billion dollars for combat operations
in Iraq and Afghanistan... The request also seeks three billion dollars
for classified activities.

KBR
first-quarter profit soars, shares climb 02 May 2008 KBR Inc,
the engineering and construction company, said on Friday its first-quarter
net profit more than tripled, helped by an arbitration award,
income from energy projects and its work terrorism for the U.S.
government in Iraq.

KBR's
first quarter exceeds expectations 02 May 2008 A favorable arbitration
award gave a hefty boost to first-quarter income at KBR Inc. Houston-based
KBR on Friday reported net income for the three months ended March 31
of $93 million, or 58 cents a share, on revenue of $2.5 billion, compared
with net income of $28 million, or 17 cents a share, on revenue of $2
billion in the same quarter last year.

Oil
extends gains amid tensions in Iraq 02 May 2008 Oil climbed
midafternoon as traders bought into the market amid optimism that crude's
recent price rally may continue after prices found support at $110 a
barrel yesterday, and after Turkey launched a bombing raid on northern
Iraq.

McCain
clarifies remark about oil, Iraq war 02 May 2008 Republican
John McCain was forced to clarify spin his comments Friday suggesting
the Iraq war involved U.S. reliance on foreign oil. At issue was a comment
he made at a town hall-style GOP meeting Friday morning in Denver.
"My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about,
which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that
will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into
conflict again in the Middle East," McCain said.

Turkey
bombs 'PKK bases' in Iraq 02 May 2008 Turkish aircraft have
bombed northern Iraq in the latest of a series of air raids in the region
targeting Kurdish fighters. Turkey's General Staff on Friday said at
least 30 planes were involved in the raids on what it called senior
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in the Qandil mountains, but
made no mention of any casualties.

2
Fort Hood soldiers killed in Iraq 02 May 2008 The Defense Department
said Friday that two Fort Hood soldiers, including an officer, were
killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in
Iraq.

Senate
panel bans private contractors in CIA interrogations 01 May
2008 The Senate Intelligence Committee moved on Thursday to ban the
CIA from using private contractors to interrogate prisoners. The bill
would also require the intelligence agencies to give the International
Committee of the Red Cross access to all their detainees. That would
prevent the United States from holding "ghost detainees" -- anonymous
prisoners detained incommunicado and without records.

Convention
Preparations Prompt Suit by A.C.L.U. 03 May 2008 Groups planning
parades or protests at the Democratic National Convention filed a lawsuit
here on Friday charging that the Secret Service and the City of Denver
are threatening free speech -- not because of tight security rules,
but by the very lack of them. The suit, filed in Federal District Court,
says that delays in establishing legal parade routes, and unanswered
questions about security arrangements around the convention center,
are undermining efforts to plan for events when Democrats gather here
from Aug. 25 to 28.

Longshoreman
spark May Day shutdown at many West Coast ports 01 May 2008
Several major U.S. ports along the West Coast were partially or fully
closed for business Thursday, May 1, as part of an organized protest.
The May Day shutdown closed terminals at California ports in San Diego,
Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and San Francisco. Ports in Seattle
and Tacoma, WA, also closed.

Bomb
Squad Investigating Suspicious Vehicle at Fort Lewis 02 May
2008 The bomb squad is investigating a suspicious vehicle at the visitor's
center of Fort Lewis. The main gate has been evacuated as well as the
visitor's center. The Washington Department of Transportation has closed
the exit ramps from I-5 to the Fort Lewis main gate in both directions.

Deadline
extended for transportation worker secure ID cards 02 May 2008
The Bush regime will delay a post-9/11 program that provides special
identification cards to every worker with access to seaports. The Sept.
25 deadline to enroll 1.2 million workers with access to ports into
the transportation worker credentialing program will be extended to
April 15, 2009, the Homeland Security Department announced Friday. The
department started the enrollment process in October.

Voting
Rights Are Too Important to Leave to the States By Adam Cohen
02 May 2008 It would be hard for Florida to surpass its disastrous performance
in the 2000 election, but give the Sunshine State credit for trying.
Its latest assault on democracy: a law threatening volunteer groups
with crippling fines if they make small mistakes in registering voters.
The law seems clearly aimed at keeping new voters -- especially minorities
and the poor -- off the rolls. And it is working... Florida is not the
only state trying to stop eligible people from voting... It is chilling
to think that state legislators and election officials would intentionally
try to make it harder for Americans to vote, but they always have --
with poll taxes, literacy tests and gerrymandering.

The
Lurita Doan Story (The New York Times) 02 May 2008 It has been
11 months since investigators found that Lurita Doan, chief of the General
Services Administration, violated the Hatch Act’s ban on politicking
on the job, asking her staff how they could "help our candidates..."
Her one undeniable service for taxpayers was in laying bare the partisan
diktat that so deeply scars the Bush administration’s approach to government
service. Evidence of such chicanery extends from regulatory agencies
packed with pro-industry appointees, to the purging of nine United States
attorneys responsible for enforcing justice, not the Republican Party’s
agenda.

EPA
official ousted while fighting Dow 02 May 2008 (Saginaw, MI)
The battle over dioxin contamination in this economically stressed region
had been raging for years when a top Bush administration official turned
up the pressure on Dow Chemical to clean it up. On Thursday, following
months of internal bickering over Mary Gade's interactions with Dow,
the administration forced her to quit as head of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Midwest office, based in Chicago. Gade told the
Tribune she resigned after two aides to national EPA administrator Stephen
Johnson took away her powers as regional administrator and told her
to quit or be fired by June 1.

Auto
lobby spends $70 million--Efforts to influence fuel economy
standards largely drive record figure; GM leads industry with $14M.
01 May 2008 The automotive industry spent a record $70.3 million lobbying
Congress in 2007, a figure largely driven by efforts to influence changes
in the fuel economy standards of the nation's cars and trucks, according
to a new report by the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics.

Judge:
Corps of Engineers can be sued over Katrina flooding 02 May
2008 The Army Corps of Engineers can be held liable for flood damage
caused by a "hurricane highway," a navigation channel that is believed
to have funneled Hurricane Katrina's storm surge into the city, a federal
judge ruled Friday.

Questioner
booted for rude language says he's worried by McCain's temper
01 May 2008 Clive businessman Marty Parrish was escorted from Sen. John
McCain's town hall meeting by Des Moines police and members of the Secret
Service after asking McCain if he had called his wife Cindy an expletive
in 1992. Parrish, an licensed Baptist minister who holds a master's
degree in political science, was questioned by Secret Service agents
before being released. Parrish asked whether McCain called his wife
Cindy a [c*nt], as has been alleged in the book "The Real McCain."

The
True McCain Health Plan: Wealth Transfer From Voters to Corporations
By RJ Eskow 01 May 2008 ...The McCain plan, if enacted, would result
in an enormous transfer of wealth from the general public to large American
businesses. In that sense, it reflects a lot of what passes for "conservative"
ideology nowadays. There is no underlying belief system, just a mixed
bag of policies - some "pro-big government" and some "anti big-government"
- that share only the ability to enrich the large corporate donors that
finance Republican campaigns. So Republican political platforms are
often little more than ideological smokescreens for policies that benefit
these special interests.

Tiny
Guam leaps into White House race 02 May 2008 The spotlight shines
on an oft forgotten part of US territory this weekend when the tiny,
remote Pacific island of Guam gets its chance to help make history in
the US presidential campaign. Guam, which has been a US territory since
1898, rarely steps into the limelight in US politics, lying on the other
side of the international dateline and more than a 20-hour plane ride
from Washington. But all eyes will be on Saturday's Democratic caucuses,
even though there are only four party delegates at stake...

Obama
intent on running out the clock By Carl P. Leubsdorf 01 May
2008 Barack Obama looks like the quarterback of a football team intent
on running out the clock to preserve its lead in a championship game.
By spurning future debates, he seeks to prevent giving rival Hillary
Clinton a way to change the course of the game. He is playing it safe
to avoid a mistake that could erase the small but firm margin he built
through the first three quarters.

Adored
in small towns, Bill Clinton stumps for his wife 02 May 2008
(Apex, NC) People who suggest Bill Clinton might be hurting his wife's
presidential bid more than helping it haven't spent much time in the
small towns where he draws adoring crowds of Democrats who wish he could
serve a third term. Clinton routinely draws adoring crowds of Democrats
who stand attentively to hear his detailed, rapid-fire case for his
wife's election - often after waiting hours for him to arrive.

Obama
May Levy $15 Billion Tax on Oil Company Profit [Awesome!] 01
May 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal for
a windfall profits tax on oil companies could cost $15 billion a year
at last year's profit levels, a campaign adviser said. The tax would
help pay for a $1,000 tax cut for working families, an expansion of
the earned- income tax credit and assistance for people who can't afford
their energy bills.

US
plan to protect right whale from shipping blocked by Cheney
02 May 2008 Efforts to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic
right whale from being killed by ships are being blocked by Vice President
[sic] Dick Cheney according to leaked documents. A behind the scenes
struggle is raging between the White House and US government scientists
who want to force ships to slow down near the calving grounds of the
almost extinct right whale. Only
350 of the whales remain in Atlantic waters off America's eastern seaboard
and they are considered one of the most endangered species on Earth.
[Cheney
wears a pacemaker, right? Two words: giant magnet.]

Help
Protect Polar Bears 02 May 2008 The Center for Biological Diversity
just won a lawsuit forcing the Bush administration to finally decide
whether to protect the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act by
May 15, 2008 -- with the decision to be effective immediately. The polar
bear, in dire straights due to global warming and the threat of oil
and gas exploration, needs all the support it can get, and we've written
a petition so that you can help us pressure the administration to make
the right choice.

Fire
officials brace for scorching summer 02 May 2008 With more than
1 million acres burned by wildfires across the USA already this year
-- more than double the amount burned by this time in 2007 -- fire officials
are preparing for a devastating summer.

*****

Alleged
Call Girl Professor Hanged Self 30 Jan 2007 A former university
professor accused of working as a call girl hanged herself over the
weekend, police said Monday. Brandy Britton was found dead at her home
Saturday by a family member. Britton, who was a sociology and anthropology
professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, was charged
a year ago with four counts of prostitution and was scheduled to go
on trial next Monday.

Police:
'D.C. Madam' Palfrey Hanged Self in Fla. 01 May 2008 Deborah
Jeane Palfrey, convicted last month of running a high-end prostitution
service in Washington, hanged herself in a shed outside her mother's
mobile home in Florida today, officials said. Authorities were called
today to the Sun Valley Estates Mobile Home Park in Tarpon Springs,
Fla., by Blanche Palfrey, who found her daughter's body hanging by a
nylon rope shortly before 11 a.m., Tarpon Springs police Capt. Jeffrey
P. Young said at a news conference. He said Deborah Palfrey left at
least two suicide notes, but he declined to discuss their contents.

'D.C.
Madam' Apparently Hanged Herself, Police Say 01 May 2008 Deborah
Jeane Palfrey, the "D.C. Madam" whose prostitution service
allegedly catered to government officials, apparently committed suicide
by hanging herself, according a statement from police in Tarpon Springs,
Florida. Palfrey, 52, was staying with her mother, Blanche, who discovered
her today suspended from a nylon rope wrapped around a metal beam in
a storage shed, the statement said.

Iraq's
April toll mounts to 1,073 01 May 2008 More than 1,073 Iraqis
were killed across the country in April, most of them slaughtered in
fierce fighting between security forces and Shi'ite fighters. Iraqi
Health Ministry figures showed civilian deaths in April were the most
in eight months.

Double
Suicide Attack on Wedding Party Kills 35 in Iraq 01 May 2008
Two suicide [Blackwater] bombers attacked a wedding caravan Thursday
as it drove through a crowded market district past bystanders cheering
the bride and groom, killing at least 35 people and wounding 65 in a
town northeast of Baghdad, officials said.

At
least 925 people killed in Iraq's Sadr City clashes 30 Apr 2008
At least 925 people have been killed in clashes between militiamen and
security forces in Baghdad's Sadr City that began last month, a senior
Iraqi official told reporters on Wednesday. Another 2,605 people have
been wounded in the firefights that began on March 25 and are still
continuing, said Tehseen Sheikhly, one of the spokesmen for the Baghdad
security plan.

Two
US soldiers killed in Baghdad 30 Apr 2008 'Insurgents' killed
two US soldiers in Baghdad in separate attacks of small arms fire and
a bomb blast, the American military said Wednesday. Both the soldiers
died on Tuesday in northwestern Baghdad.

Iraq
has most unsolved journalists' murders-CPJ 01 May 2008 Iraq
has the worst record for failing to solve murders of journalists, a
journalism watchdog said on Wednesday. There are 79 cases of unsolved
[Blackwater's] murders of journalists in Iraq and most of them had been
targeted because of their work, not caught in crossfire, the New York-based
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a report released at
the United Nations.

Iraqi
expert accuses West over antiquities trade 01 May 2008 A senior
Iraqi official has accused the West of not doing enough to stop the
thriving trade in antiquities smuggled [by Bush's Barbarians] out of
the country's depleted archeological sites and sold in auction houses
across Britain, America and Europe. Dr Bahaa Mayah, a special adviser
to Iraq's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, called for an immediate
global ban on the sale of at least 100,000 artefacts that have been
stolen since the invasion.

"Mission
Accomplished," 5 Years Later --Since Bush Declared End to
Major Combat Operations In Iraq, Nearly 4,000 U.S. Troops Have Died
01 May 2008 May 1 marks the fifth anniversary of President [sic] George
W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech aboard the deck of the USS Abraham
Lincoln... That message may have special meaning for the crew of the
USS Abraham Lincoln, on which their commander-in-thief declared
"Mission Accomplished" five long years ago. Their ship has just begun
duty in the Persian Gulf, within striking distance of the coast of Iran.

White
House admits fault on 'Mission Accomplished' banner 30 Apr 2008
The White House said Wednesday that President [sic] Bush has paid a
price for the "Mission Accomplished" banner that was flown in triumph
five years ago but later became a symbol of U.S. misjudgments and mistakes
in the long and costly war in Iraq. Thursday is the fifth anniversary
of Bush's dramatic landing in a Navy jet on an aircraft carrier
homebound from the war.

McCain:
'Mission accomplished' banner not Bush's fault 01 May 2008 Republican
John McCain said President [sic] Bush should not be held responsible
for the much-criticized "Mission Accomplished" banner five years ago...
McLunatic said he can't blame Bush for the banner. After shifting explanations,
the White House eventually said the "Mission Accomplished" phrase referred
to the carrier's crew completing its 10-month mission, not the military
completing its mission in Iraq.

Longview
longshoremen join West Coast walkout 01 May 2008 (WA) The 340
longshoremen at the Port of Longview are leaving work today to join
a protest of the Iraq War, said John Philbrook, president of the International
Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 21. The Longview workers are joining
25,000 longshoremen at 29 West Coast ports in the one-day walkout.

US
officials: Decision on confronting Iran up to Iraq 30 Apr 2008
Iraqi leaders have been given the latest U.S. [planted] evidence of
Iranian support for militias inside Iraq, and Baghdad will decide what
to do about it, two senior Pentagon officials said Wednesday.

CIA
director says Iran wants to kill Americans in Iraq 30 Apr 2008
CIA Director Michael Hayden said Wednesday that Iranian policy, at the
highest government level, is to help kill Americans in Iraq, the boldest
pronouncement of Iranian involvement by a U.S. official to date.

US
Cites New Evidence of Iranian Support for Taliban 30 Apr 2008
The Pentagon said Wednesday Iran is continuing to provide weapons and
other material to Taliban 'insurgents' in Afghanistan, in addition to
its alleged continuing support for Shiite militias in Iraq.

Iran
complains to U.N. about Clinton comment 01 May 2008 Iran complained
to the United Nations on Wednesday about U.S. presidential candidate
Hillary Clinton's comment the United States could "totally obliterate"
Iran in retaliation for a nuclear strike against Israel.

Senate
panel makes second try at preventing waterboarding
30 Apr 2008 The Senate Intelligence Committee voted Tuesday to limit
CIA interrogators to techniques approved by the military, which would
effectively bar them from waterboarding prisoners, congressional officials
said. The vote on an amendment by Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., taken
behind closed doors as the committee debated legislation to authorize
money for intelligence operations in 2009, marks at least the second
attempt by intelligence overseers in Congress to regulate CIA questioning
of prisoners.

U.S.
has Mandela on terrorist watch lists 30 Apr 2008 Nobel Peace
Prize winner and international symbol of freedom Nelson Mandela is flagged
on U.S. terrorist watch lists and needs special permission to visit
the USA. "What an indignity," Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., chairman
of the House International Relations Committee, said.

Air
marshals grounded in list mix-ups --Terrorist Screening Center
said April 10 it will review nearly 500,000
names on its watch list 30 Apr 2008 False identifications based
on a terrorist no-fly list have for years prevented some federal air
marshals from boarding flights they are assigned to protect, according
to officials with the agency, which is finally taking steps to address
the problem. Federal Air Marshals familiar with the situation say the
mix-ups, in which marshals are mistaken for terrorism suspects who share
the same names, have gone on for years -- just as they have for thousands
of members of the traveling public.

Aviation
companies blame FBI, CIA and terrorists for 9/11 01 May 2008
Aviation companies sued by the families of Sept. 11 victims for failing
to safeguard air travel are in turn blaming federal investigators --
arguing the Federal Aviation Administration was not alerted that al-Qaida
[al-CIAduh] was poised to launch terrorist attacks. In court documents
filed this week in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, aviation companies
are seeking to force five FBI employees to provide testimony that may
help defend against claims the companies share blame in the attacks.
"The aviation parties anticipate that the FBI witnesses' testimony will
demonstrate that the FBI had information before Sept. 11 indicating
that al-Qaida may have been about to launch terrorist attacks on civil
aviation, which it did not timely pass along to the Federal Aviation
Administration," lawyers wrote.

Judge
orders White House to resolve e-mail backup 'ambiguity' --Court
finds that flash drives, .PST files may hold clues to find missing e-mails
25 Apr 2008 A federal judge has told the White House to answer "once
and for all" whether backup tapes holding e-mail documents sought by
a Washington-based watchdog group have been preserved. In the order,
District Court Judge John M. Facciola said that the Executive Office
of the President must tell the court by May 5 whether any backup tapes
created from March to October 2003 have been preserved. Further, the
government must disclose the specific dates when e-mail messages were
not backed up.

House
committee threatens Rove with subpoena 01 May 2008 The House
Judiciary Committee threatened Thursday to subpoena former White House
adviser Karl Rove if he does not agree by May 12 to testify about former
Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman's corruption case. In a letter to Rove's
attorney, committee Democrats called it "completely unacceptable" that
the Republican political strategist has so far rejected the committee's
request for sworn testimony even as he discusses the matter publicly
through the media.

State
lawyer nailed for no-show job 01 May 2008 James A.P. McCarthy,
an attorney and former counsel to Gov. George E. Pataki (R), was spending
time at a posh country club and working at his Albany law firm while
billing the state for thousands of dollars in salary for a no-show patronage
job at the Department of Correctional Services, according to a report
released today by the state Inspector General.

Former
Democratic leader switches to Obama
01 May 2008 A leader of the Democratic Party under Bill Clinton switched
his allegiance to Barack Obama on Thursday and urged fellow Democrats
to end the bruising nomination fight. "This has got to come to an end,"
former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew told reporters
in his hometown of Indianapolis just days before Tuesday's crucial state
primary.

Fear
of a Black Phallus--Why
didn't any media outlets dig up Ted Haggard's dirt during the 2000 and
2004 elections? By Earl Crown 01 May 2008 The only reason Fox News
and their kind went trolling for dirt on Reverend Wright is because
the candidate is black. If Barack Obama was Bob Smith and lily-white,
the media would not care what his spiritual advisors had to say. George
W. Bush had a "spiritual advisor" named Ted Haggard. Two years ago,
it was discovered that the Reverend Haggard, a married man with children
and a huge congregation, was smoking meth and having sex with a male
prostitute. Haggard's meth and prostitute habit goes back YEARS, before
the 2000 elections, and he was using church funds to finance his debauchery.

Mission
Accomplished:Exxon
Mobil reports record $11B in first-quarter profit01 May 2008
Exxon Mobil Corp.'s first-quarter profit rose 17 percent from a year
ago, buoyed by soaring crude oil prices. The Irving-based oil giant
earned $10.89 billion, or $2.03 per share, for the quarter, compared
with $9.28 billion, or $1.62 per share, a year ago. Revenue jumped to
$116.85 billion from $87.22 billion last year.

Exxon
profit up 17% on oil surge01 May 2008 Oil giant Exxon Mobil
made $10.9bn (£6bn) profit in the first three months of 2008 - up 17%
but less than some had expected [!], analysts said.

Americans
unload prized belongings to make ends meet
29 Apr 2008 Struggling with mounting debt and rising prices, faced with
the toughest economic times since the early 1990s, Americans are selling
prized possessions online and at flea markets at alarming rates. To
meet higher
gas, food and prescription drug bills, they are selling off grandmother's
dishes and their own belongings. Some of the household purging has been
extremely painful -- families forced to part with heirlooms.

Help
Protect Polar Bears (Center for Biological Diversity) 30 Apr
2008 Polar bears are in trouble. The melting of the Arctic is killing
them. Some are already starving and drowning. The Bush administration
has stalled a decision on whether protect the polar bear while it rushes
forward with Arctic oil and gas leases. But now a federal judge has
ordered the administration to make a final decision by May 15th. Please
sign the petition urging the Secretary of Interior to list the polar
bear as an endangered species and to protect its habitat.

Feds
declare West Coast salmon fisheries disaster 01 May 2008 Federal
authorities declared the West Coast ocean salmon fishery a failure Thursday,
opening the way for Congress to appropriate economic disaster assistance
for coastal communities in California, Oregon and Washington. "This
is a bleak year," Jim Balsiger, NOAA Fisheries Service acting assistant
administrator, said in announcing the declaration in Portland, Ore.

S.
Fla. stuck with $3 billion sewage bill 01 May 2008 South Florida
counties must eventually stop pumping hundreds of millions of gallons
of sewage every day into the ocean, under a bill the Legislature passed
Wednesday that also sticks the counties with the $3 billion cost. [Instead,
*stick it* to the corpora-terrorists who are doing the polluting.]

*****

U.S.
Develops Iran Attack Plan --The Pentagon has ordered military
commanders to develop to options for attacking Iran. 29 Apr 2008
A second American aircraft carrier steamed into the Persian Gulf on
Tuesday as the Pentagon ordered military commanders to develop new options
for attacking Iran. CBS News reports that the planning
is being driven by what one officer called the "increasingly hostile
role" Iran is playing in Iraq - smuggling weapons into Iraq for use
against American troops... U.S. officials are also concerned by Iranian
harassment of U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf as well as Iran's still
growing nuclear program.

Pentagon
denies report of new Iran war planning 30 Apr 2008 The United
States remains focused on halting [alleged] Iranian meddling inside
Iraq, the Pentagon's spokesman said here Wednesday, denying reports
of new planning for military options against Iran. "I'm not aware of
any ramping up or revision of war plans for Iran," Pentagon spokesman
Geoff Morrell told reporters traveling with US Defense Secretary Robert
Gates, who is winding up a two day visit here.

Warships
'to remind Iran of US power' 01 May 2008 The decision to send
a second US aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf should be a "reminder"
to Iran of Washington's military might but was not an escalation of
force in the region, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday.
The arrival of the formidable warship in the Gulf follows a noticeable
hardening of US rhetoric against Iran, accusing Tehran of meddling in
Iraq and destabilising the region.

Iran
Ends Oil Transactions In U.S. Dollars --OPEC's Second-Largest
Producer Now Pegs Petroleum to Euros and Yen 30 Apr 2008 Iran, OPEC's
second-largest producer, has completely stopped conducting oil transactions
in U.S. dollars, a top Oil Ministry official said Wednesday, a concerted
attempt to reduce reliance on Washington at a time of tension over Tehran's
nuclear program and suspected involvement in Iraq.

Iraq
to see $70 billion windfall as oil prices rise, U.S. military says
--Congress has OK'd $47 billion for 'reconstruction' since war began
30 Apr 2008 Iraq's government is expected to reap a $70 billion windfall
from soaring oil prices, about double the previous projections, the
U.S. military's reconstruction watchdog reported Wednesday. Congress
has approved about $47 billion in reconstruction funding since the invasion.

Iraq
budget cut by $171M after oil-profit windfall --Gates: Remaining
$439 million 'reconstruction' project funds should continue 29 Apr
2008 The Pentagon has agreed to cut from its budget $171 million to
build police stations in Iraq after demands from Congress that the Iraqi
government spend its recent oil windfall on reconstruction projects.
The amount is a fraction of the roughly $47
billion Congress has approved to rebuild destroy Iraq
since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Over
a thousand Iraqis killed in April 01 May 2008 Fierce clashes
and US-led operations in Iraq have killed at least 1,073 people, including
966 civilians, across the country in April. Sixty-nine policemen and
38 soldiers were also among the fatalities; AFP reported Wednesday based
on casualty figures provided by Iraq's interior, health and defense
ministries.

37
die in Iraq clashes 30 Apr 2008 More than 37 people were killed
in Baghdad's Shi'ite militia bastion of Sadr City yesterday, as gunmen
clashed with US soldiers under cover of a severe sandstorm. Several
rockets or mortar rounds also struck the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified
government compound, as militants took advantage of the absence of US
air cover during the storm, witnesses said.

Investment
Giant Ends Talks With Blackwater --Private Equity Firm Was
Pondering $200 million Investment in Controversial Security Firm
30 Apr 2008 After news broke this morning on ABCNews.com of the ongoing
talks between the investment giant Cerberus and the mercenary firm Blackwater,
the talks have now ceased, and there will be no deal. Late today a spokesperson
for Cerberus told ABCNews.com that they have decided not to pursue a
transaction with Blackwater. The
chairman of Cerberus is former Treasury Secretary John Snow, and former
Vice President Dan Quayle is also a prominent figure in the company.

Senate
panel tries to ban waterboarding 30 Apr 2008 The US Senate Intelligence
Committee has voted to limit CIA interrogators, prohibiting them from
using waterboarding on the prisoners. Waterboarding is a form of torture
used by the CIA that lays a person on their back pouring water over
the face and into the breathing passages which forces suffocation and
inhalation of water.

US
Navy re-establishes fleet for Caribbean, Latin America
24 Apr 2008 The US Navy said Thursday it has re-established the US Fourth
Fleet to direct an increasing American naval presence in the Caribbean
and Latin America. The
move comes as popularly elected leftist regimes governments,
including that of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, pose a growing
challenge to US influence terrorism in Latin America.

US
launches 'mini surge' in Afghanistan
30 Apr 2008 A strike force of US marines punched through Taliban frontlines
in southern Helmand yesterday as part of an Afghan "mini surge" intended
to weaken the 'insurgents'' grip on the war-ravaged south. The marine
force, numbered in the hundreds, exchanged fire with Taliban fighters
as they pushed through Garmser, a town abandoned by its inhabitants
in recent years and ringed by poppy fields.

Seven
dead as Afghan forces trade fire with 'terrorists'
30 Apr 2008 Afghan security forces raided the Kabul hideout of militants
with suspected links to the weekend attack on President Hamid Karzai,
sparking a clash that left at least seven people dead Wednesday, officials
said.

Afghan
forces kill 2 Taliban, woman, child in siege 30 Apr 2008 Afghan
security forces surrounded a house in the capital Kabul on Wednesday
and traded gunfire with 'Taliban insurgents' before blowing up the building
and killing two 'militants' as well as a woman and child inside, officials
said.

Aust
soldier stable after Afghanistan shooting 30 Apr 2008 An Australian
soldier is being treated for a gunshot wound to the arm after a battle
with 'insurgents' in Afghanistan's Uruzgan Province. The soldier's injuries
are not life threatening and the Defence Department says he is in a
stable condition in hospital.

US
report says al-Qaida gaining strength 30 Apr 2008 Al-Qaida [al-CIAduh]
has rebuilt some of its pre-Sept. 11 capabilities from remote hiding
places in Pakistan, leading to a jump in attacks last year in that country
and neighboring Afghanistan, the Bush regime said Wednesday. Attacks
in Pakistan doubled between 2006 and 2007 and the number of fatalities
quadrupled, the State Department said in its annual terrorism report.
[See: Billions
in U.S. Aid to Pakistan Wasted, Officials Assert 24 Dec 2007
After the United States has spent more than $5
billion in a largely failed effort to bolster the Pakistani
military effort against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, some American officials
now acknowledge that there were too few controls over the money. See:
US
Senate approves Pakistan aid worth $785m 20 Dec 2007 The US
Senate has approved a $785 million
assistance package for Pakistan for the fiscal year 2008... on Tuesday
night. ]

Peace
protesters deflate NZ spy base dome [Awesome!] 29 Apr 2008 Peace
activists attacked and deflated a large inflatable globe housing a satellite
dish at a top secret New Zealand spy base [part of a global signals
interception network, Echelon] on Wednesday in protest at United States
military actions. The group, calling itself ANZAC Ploughshares, said
it cut through fences and razor wire and avoided electronic sensors
to slash one of two 30-metre (98-ft) white globes with a sickle at the
Waihopai base near Blenheim at the top of the South Island.

Troops
stranded by airline bankruptcy --Some may have to wait a
week to get ride home 29 Apr 2008 The abrupt collapse of ATA Airlines
has left an untold number of U.S. soldiers, sailors and Marines stuck
in Iraqi and Afghan airports while they await a ride home. Some face
travel delays of up to a week, military officials acknowledge. "It's
hard to believe that when this bankruptcy happened, the Department of
Defense didn't have a backup plan," Bret Rumbeck, press secretary for
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., said Tuesday.

Army
widens probe after finding bad conditions at Fort Bragg 29 Apr
2008 Army officials said Tuesday they are inspecting every barracks
building worldwide to see whether problems revealed at Fort Bragg, N.C.,
last week are widespread. Brig. Gen. Dennis Rogers, who is responsible
for maintaining barracks throughout the Army, acknowledged the revelations
from a video shot by the father of an 82nd Airborne Division soldier
showing poor conditions such as mold inside the barracks, peeling interior
paint and a bathroom drain plugged with sewage.

Police
investigated in failed Australian terror inquiry 30 Apr 2008
In Australia, the much awaited judicial inquiry into the failed terrorism
case against Indian doctor Muhammad Haneef has heard fresh calls for
coercive powers to investigate the circumstances surrounding his arrest
and detention last year.

Wright
Says U.S. Government Capable of Creating AIDS Virus --Hecklers
turn mute as pastor cites documented history of biological warfare against
innocent people By Paul Joseph Watson 29 Apr 2008 Barack Obama's
outspoken pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., defended his statements
accusing the U.S. government of deliberately engineering the AIDS virus
as a means of genocide during a National Press Club appearance yesterday
by citing the documented history of the U.S. government's involvement
in biological warfare operations against innocent people. Asked if he
stood behind previous statements about the U.S. government deliberately
creating AIDS as a means of genocide against black people, Wright responded,
"Have you read Horowitz' book - 'Emerging Viruses - AIDS and Ebola?'"
[See also: Flu
'Oddities'.]

Big-Oil
Profit Seen Surging This Week 28 Apr 2008 Big Oil's profit juggernaut
shows few signs of slowing, despite a weakening economy in the world's
biggest fossil-fuel guzzler, the U.S. Normally, a slowing economy means
less driving and therefore lower prices for gasoline and crude oil.
This time around, however, a soft economy may mean bigger profits for
Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP PLC which report first-quarter earnings this
week.

Bush
says no 'magic wand' to lower fuel prices[Yeah, and too
bad no 'magic wand' to make him 'disappear.'] 29 Apr 2008 U.S. President
[sic] George W. Bush said on Tuesday there was no "magic wand" to bring
down record-high fuel prices but would consider a proposal to suspend
federal gasoline taxes this summer.

Judge
Orders Bush Administration to Stop Delaying Polar Bear Protection
--Finds It Guilty of Violating Endangered Species Act 29 Apr
2008 A federal judge has found the Bush administration guilty of violating
the Endangered Species Act and ordered
the administration to issue a final listing decision for the polar bear
by May 15, 2008. The polar bear, suffering as its Arctic sea ice habitat
melts far faster than forecast, is one of the world’s most imperiled
animals due to global warming.

Bush
has 16 days to decide whether polar bears are endangered 29
Apr 2008 The Bush administration has 16 days to decide whether polar
bears are now an endangered species because of climate change, a California
judge ruled today. The US court handed a victory to three environmental
groups that sued to protect polar bears threatened by melting sea ice,
rejecting a plea by the government to postpone its decision until June
30.

Witness
says Hastert linked to alleged plot --House speaker would
have picked Fitzgerald's replacement, defendant's ex-associate claims
29 Apr 2008 The name of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was
added Monday to the roster of political heavyweights linked by witnesses
to an alleged plan to dump Chicago's top federal prosecutor and kill
a criminal investigation into a top fundraiser for Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
A witness at the corruption trial of Blagojevich insider Antoin "Tony"
Rezko testified that Rezko told him in February 2005 about an effort
under way to fire U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald and replace him with
someone more compliant to be hand-picked by Hastert, then the top Republican
in the House.

Suspicious
Phone Messages Target Black Voters in North Carolina
--Watchdog Group Says Calls May Be Linked to Ones in Virginia and
Ohio 30 Apr 2008 Misleading automated phone messages that have targeted
African American voters in North Carolina have been linked to similar
phone calls made in Virginia, say election officials.

Obama
Strikes Back, Denouncing Wright 29 Apr 2008 Sen. Barack Obama
today strongly criticized the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor,
saying that Wright's comments about the United States in recent days
have been "destructive" and "outrageous."

Clinton
Carpools in Indiana 30 Apr 2008 (South Bend) Like any hardworking,
environmentally conscious American, Hillary Clinton carpooled to work
this morning in South Bend, stopping by a gas station on the way to
purchase some gas at $3.65 a gallon... At the Marathon gas station,
Clinton stood beside Jason Allen Wilfing as he filled the tank of the
borrowed car, while she spoke softly about her plans to reduce gas prices
as more than a dozen reporters watched. (The total for the gas was $63.37
for a little under a half a tank; Clinton paid for it with campaign
funds.)

*****

2400
US marines attack Afghan drug town 30 Apr 2008 US Marines went
into action yesterday, pouring into a lawless town in Afghanistan’s
southern Helmand province -- the first time a sizeable American force
has fought in the largely British sector of the country for several
years. About 2,400 Marines, many veterans of the war in Iraq, were involved
in the dawn assault on Garmser.

Militiamen
ambush drives back US patrol in Sadr City 29 Apr 2008 Dozens
of fighters ambushed a U.S. patrol in Baghdad's main Shiite militia
stronghold Tuesday, firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun
bursts as the American push into Sadr City increasingly faces pockets
of close urban combat. U.S. forces struck back with 200-pound guided
rockets that devastated at least three buildings in the densely packed
district that serves as the Baghdad base for the powerful Mahdi Army
militia.

Drone
attacks hit high in Iraq 29 Apr 2008 U.S. commanders in Iraq
have ordered an unprecedented number of airstrikes by unmanned airplanes
in April to kill 'insurgents' in urban combat and to limit their ability
to launch rockets at American forces, military records show. The 11
attacks by Predators -- nearly double the previous high for one month
-- were conducted as the Pentagon has intensified efforts to increase
the use of drones.

DynCorp
Manager Used Armored Car to Transport Hookers in Iraq (Muckraked!)
28 Apr 2008 Some explosive testimony this afternoon from a panel of
whistleblowers testifying
before the Senate’s Democratic Policy Committee on contractor abuse
in Iraq. A contractor died when a DynCorp manager used an employee’s
armored car to transport prostitutes, according to Barry Halley, a Worldwide
Network Services employee working under a DynCorp subcontract. Also:
Kellogg Brown & Root contractors used to destroy countless quantities
of still-usable equipment that was difficult to transport in "massive
burn pits" that were "burning 24 hours a day." KBR’s
ice foreman "was cheating the troops out of ice at the same time
that he was trading the ice for DVDs, CDs, food and other items at the
Iraqi shops across the street." When KBR whistleblower Frank Cassaday
reported weapons looting, he was placed in a jail tent by KBR security.
KBR employees looted Iraqi palaces for treasure to sell on eBay.

KBR
workers in Iraq stole weapons and artwork, senators told 28
Apr 2008 KBR employees working in Iraq stole weapons, artwork and even
gold to make spurs for cowboy boots, two former company workers told
Senate Democrats on Monday. Linda Warren, an Abilene woman who worked
as a laundry foreman and recreation director for the Houston-based contracting
giant in Iraq, told the Senate Democratic Policy Committee Monday that
some of her American colleagues doing construction work in Iraqi palaces
and municipal buildings took woodcarvings, tapestries and crystal "and
even melted down gold to make spurs for cowboy boots." Warren said
the supervisor reminded her she had signed a confidentiality agreement
and then threatened her by suggesting an American woman "wouldn't last
very long on the streets of Baghdad."

New
bid, same result: KBR shares big Army contract 17 Apr 2008 Houston-based
KBR has again been selected to participate in a 10-year military logistical
support contract valued at up to $150 billion,
the U.S. Army announced today. The Army Sustainment Command, at the
insistence of the Government Accountability Office, had re-evaluated
its decision last summer to award the massive contract to KBR, Fort
Worth-based DynCorp
International and Fluor Intercontinental of Greenville, S.C. But
after rebidding the contract, the Army chose the same three players.

Obama
vows to back Bush's war commander By Bill Van Auken 29 Apr 2008
Democratic presidential front-runner Senator Barack Obama said on Sunday
he would endorse Bush’s nominee [David Petraeus] to direct US military
operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout a region extending from
North Africa to Central Asia.

Cheney
lawyer claims Congress has no authority over vice-president
--Cheney's conduct 'not within congressional committee's power of
inquiry' 29 Apr 2008 The lawyer for US vice-president [sic] Dick
Cheney claimed today that the Congress lacks any authority to examine
his behaviour on the job. The exception claimed by Cheney's counsel
came in response to requests from congressional Democrats that David
Addington, the vice-president's chief of staff, testify about his involvement
in the approval of interrogation tactics used at Guantanamo Bay. Ruling
out voluntary cooperation by Addington, Cheney lawyer Kathryn Wheelbarger
said Cheney's conduct is "not within the [congressional] committee's
power of inquiry".

Ex-Prosecutor
Told By Pentagon 'There Could Be No Acquittals' of Detainees
--Pentagon official insisted prosecutors use evidence derived from
torture 29 Apr 2008 (Guantánamo Bay, Cuba) The former chief prosecutor
here took the witness stand on Monday on behalf of a detainee and testified
that top Pentagon officials had pressured him in deciding which cases
to prosecute and what evidence to use. The prosecutor, Col. Morris D.
Davis of the Air Force, testified that Pentagon officials had interfered
with his work for political reasons and told him that charges against
well-known prisoners "could have real strategic political value"
and that there could be no acquittals.
Testifying about his assertions for the first time, Colonel Davis said
a senior Pentagon official who oversaw the military commissions, Brig.
Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann of the Air Force Reserve, reversed a decision
he had made and insisted that prosecutors proceed with evidence derived
through waterboarding of prisoners and other aggressive interrogation
methods that critics call torture.

Mahathir
calls for war crimes tribunal for US, UK leaders
27 Apr 2008 Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad called
on Friday for an international tribunal to try Western leaders for war
crimes over the war in Iraq, a spokesman for the organizers said. In
a speech at Imperial College, Mahathir called for a tribunal to try
US President [sic] George W. Bush and former prime ministers Tony Blair
of Britain and John Howard of Australia for their part in the conflict,
said a spokesman for the Muslim group the Ramadhan Foundation, which
organized the event. [Yeah! And, feel free to 'proceed with evidence
derived through waterboarding of prisoners and other aggressive interrogation
methods that critics call torture.' --LRP]

Former
prosecutor says he wouldn't have charged Hicks 29 Apr 2008 The
former chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals has
testified he would not have charged Australian David Hicks if the decision
had been up to him. Air Force Colonel Moe Davis said he pursued the
case after he inherited it from a previous prosecutor.

Hicks
comments 'no surprise' 29 Apr 2008 Any doubt that David Hicks
was charged with war crimes for purely political reasons has gone, his
father and his lawyer say. The former chief prosecutor of the US military
commissions at Guantanamo Bay said overnight he would not have pursued
Hicks because the case against the Australian was not serious enough.
The ex-prosecutor, Air Force Colonel Moe Davis, told a pre-trial hearing
for another Guantanamo Bay inmate he had "inherited" the Hicks case
and wanted to focus on cases serious enough to merit 20-year jail sentences,
with the Australian's case not meeting that mark.

1st
British Waterboarding Championships By Daniel Raven-Ellison
02 Mar 2008 In direct response to the recent debate around if Waterboarding
is torture, guerrilla geographers inverted the practice into a competitive
sport and held the first British Waterboarding Championships in central
London last Saturday... The Guerrilla Geographers are now calling for
Waterboarding to become a recognised Olympic sport ready for the 2012
games in London.

U.S.
Importing 6,700 Tons of Radioactive Sand From Kuwait--Sand
contaminated with DU and lead from U.S. Army base in Kuwait to be shipped
to Idaho 28 Apr 2008 Longshoremen should finish unloading 6,700
tons of sand contaminated with depleted uranium and lead
Tuesday afternoon, said Chad Hyslop, spokesman for the disposal company
American Ecology. The BBC Alabama arrived at the Port of Longview (WA)
Saturday afternoon with the 306 containers carrying the contaminated
sand from Camp Doha, a U.S. Army base in Kuwait. Half of the containers
will be loaded onto 76 rail cars and transported to the company's disposal
site in Idaho. The other half will remain at the port until the trains
return to haul them to Idaho. State Department of Health personnel are
at the port to test radiation levels and to ensure none of the
sand spills [!], Hyslop said.

Kuwaiti
sand bound for Longview has high levels of lead; extended stay likely
24 Apr 2008 The U.S. Army has found a potentially hazardous amount of
lead in Kuwaiti sand already bound for the Port of Longview (WA) , the
company disposing the material said Thursday. The discovery could mean
the BBC Alabama, which is hauling the 6,700 tons of [radioactive]
sand from a U.S. Army base in Kuwait, now must likely wait in port a
month under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notification regulations,
said Chad Hyslop, project manager for the Idaho-based American Ecology.

Contaminated
sand from Gulf War to pass through Longview 15 Apr 2008 A ship
carrying 6,700 tons of sand contaminated with low levels of hazardous
waste at a U.S. Army base in Kuwait during the first Gulf War will be
unloaded at the Port of Longview (WA) on April 22. The vessel BBC Alabama
is delivering 306 containers of the sand, which contains low levels
of uranium, to the port. The contaminated sand will then be loaded
onto trains bound for a disposal site in Grand View, Idaho, said Doug
Averett, the port’s director of operations.

9/11
and the Neo-Con Agenda
By Jim Fetzer 22 Apr 2008 During a "Freedom Rally" in recognition
of Ron Paul, (R-TX) and in opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,
the founder of Scholars
for 9/11 Truth explained why the anti-war movement and the 9/11
truth movement should be more closely linked, since exposing the truth
about 9/11 destroys the justification for those wars.

Shell
profits up 25 pct on record high oil prices 29 Apr 2008 Anglo-Dutch
energy giant Royal Dutch Shell said Tuesday that first-quarter net profits
leapt 25 percent to 4.58 billion pounds
because of record-breaking crude oil prices. Crude oil prices smashed
record after record in the first quarter and hit an all-time high of
almost 120 dollars per barrel on Monday.

BP's
first-quarter profit jumps 63 percent
29 Apr 2008 BP has reported a 63 percent jump in profits in the first
quarter compared to the same period a year ago. The oil company on Tuesday
reported a profit of $7.6 billion
compared to $4.4 billion in the first quarter of 2007. First-quarter
profit was up 73 percent compared to the previous quarter.

Oil
giants post £3m an hour profits
29 Apr 2008 Oil giants BP and Shell were the toast of shareholders,
but faced anger from motorists, after pumping profits of more than £3
million an hour. The impact of rising oil prices meant their combined
earnings hit £7.2 billion in the first three months of the year - a
haul far greater than City forecasts and resulting in share price gains
of around 6% for both firms.

Medicare
"drifting towards disaster": U.S. official 29 Apr 2008 Medicare
is lurching toward disaster and it is too late for the Bush Administration
and Congress to do anything about it, U.S. Health and Human Services
Secretary [pharma-terrorist troll] Michael Leavitt said on Tuesday.
He said the next administration will have to act to stop rising costs
and get control of the $400 billion federal health insurance plan for
the elderly. [If Bush bin Laden would turn off the Iraq war spigot,
the US could fund Medicare.]

Mukasey
calls for $550 million to 'fight' drug smuggling 29 Apr 2008
Attorney General Michael Mukasey urged Congress Tuesday to approve more
than $500 million to help fight foment crime in Mexico and Central
America. [OMFG! The Bush regime has $550 million to 'fight' crime
in Mexico and Central America - but no money to fund Medicare???]

Bank
bail-outs to be kept secret 27 Apr 2008 The Bank of England
has imposed a permanent news blackout on its £50bn-plus plan to ease
the credit crunch. Ferocious and unprecedented secrecy means taxpayers
will never know the names of the banks that have been supported through
the special liquidity scheme, which was unveiled by Bank Governor Mervyn
King last week.

Obama
strongly denounces former pastor 29 Apr 2008 Democratic Sen.
Barack Obama strongly denounced his former pastor on Tuesday, saying
he was outraged by assertions made by Rev. Jeremiah Wright about the
U.S. government and race that have disrupted Obama's presidential campaign.

North
Carolina Gov. Easley endorses Clinton for president 29 Apr 2008
Governor Mike Easley has endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton for president.
At a joint appearance in Raleigh Tuesday morning, the two-term Democrat
said Clinton "gets it." "It's time for somebody to be in the White House
who understands the challenges we face in this country," Easley said.

AP
Poll: Clinton leads McCain by 9 points 28 Apr 2008 Hillary Rodham
Clinton now leads John McCain by 9 points in a head-to-head presidential
matchup, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll that bolsters her
argument that she is more electable than Democratic rival Barack Obama.
Obama and Republican McCain are running about even.

$1
billion timber slush fund or fair trade deal? Lawsuit, U.S. senators
want details on Bush administration deal By Robert McClure 29 Apr
2008 Is it an illegal $1 billion slush fund for Bush administration
friends in the timber industry, extorted from Canada and designed to
evade congressional oversight? ...[A] federal lawsuit filed in Seattle
is bringing more scrutiny to the controversial deal... $900 million
went to American timber interests and nonprofits with close ties to
the timber industry. Environmentalists say the deal amounted to an international
shell game.